House Republican Press Release

September 26, 2006

Press Office: 860-240-8700

STATE LEGISLATORS APPLAUD FUNDING INITIATIVE FOR NEW FAIRFIELD SCHOOL SYSTEM

State Senator David Cappiello (R-24) and State Reps. Mary Ann Carson (R-108) and Janice Giegler (R-138) today applauded Governor M. Jodi Rell’s announcement that the State Bond Commission is expected to approve a $78,320 grant to the Town of New Fairfield school system when it meets on Friday, October 6. The funds will be used for high-speed Internet connections and related technology to local schools.

The initiative, known as the Connecticut Education Network (CEN), aims to provide equitable access to high-speed communication in all Connecticut schools and libraries.  CEN is an initiative championed by Governor Rell to provide “knowledge at the speed of light” by linking all of Connecticut’s public school districts, institutions of higher education and libraries to one another with a state of the art information technology infrastructure. 

It is the first state research and education network in the United States to provide fiber-optic connectivity to every school district and higher ed campus. The project is run out of the State’s Department of Information Technology with key staffing and design support provided by the University of Connecticut.

"It's important that students have access to this technology," said Sen. Cappiello.  "This grant ensures that the New Fairfield school system will be equipped with the newest and most advanced learning aids currently available. This is great news for the town and we are grateful this funding is expected to be released."

“I applaud Governor Rell for including New Fairfield in this bonding allocation and am delighted that our local schools will be able to make critical improvements to their network infrastructure,” said Rep. Carson. “To the credit of the New Fairfield school system, it continues a commitment to preparing our students to effectively use the latest technology to access, evaluate and integrate information to advance their learning and achievement.”

“This grant will help ensure students have access to what has become a very valuable learning tool in classrooms and school media centers,” said Rep. Giegler. “I appreciate Governor Rell’s continued support for improving education in our state.”