The civil rights lawyers who sued the state of Connecticut to desegregate Hartford-area schools knew they were in for a long fight. But after 20 years of litigation in the case known as Sheff v. O’Neill, they thought they were finally nearing their goal. In early 2008 the state and plaintiffs reached a settlement that would help integrate Hartford-area schools: Connecticut agreed to send more Hartford city students to suburban schools and increase funding for magnet schools.
Then the agreement ran headlong into the recession. With Connecticut’s legislature negotiating a revised, pared-down budget, about $19 million promised for Sheff integration measures this year were suddenly in peril. Although the budget was due by July 1, it wasn’t clear until September — just as schools were opening — whether Connecticut would fund the Sheff measures. Ultimately, the state allotted $12.8 million of the $13.9 million requested.
