CEA President Phil Apruzzese introduces Chris Donovan
The Connecticut Education Association is supporting House Speaker Chris Donovan in his bid for the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District.
CEA president Phil Apruzzese, surrounded by teachers, made the endorsement announcement at a news conference at the Vogel-Wetmore School in Torrington on October 24. Apruzzese told the crowd that the speaker is a strong advocate and friend of public school teachers and education in Connecticut.
“Chris is a leader in the fight to improve public education in Connecticut and we are delighted to endorse his candidacy for Congress,” says Apruzzese. “From smaller class sizes to programs and resources to help priority schools to expanding access to early childhood education, Chris has fought for children in Hartford and we know he will fight for them in Congress.”
Speaker Donovan has been in the legislature since 1992 and has always been a leader in the fight to improve Connecticut’s schools. He understands the need to ensure all children have access to a high-quality education, so that our state can have a globally competitive, 21st-century workforce; and he wants to lower the state’s high school dropout rate and provide resources to priority schools.
He supports teachers and is a strong advocate for collective bargaining, which he believes is a basic right. He supports teacher pensions and under his leadership, the legislature “Kept the Promise” and approved appropriate funding for the teachers’ retirement system. And Chris strongly supports the use of multiple indicators to evaluate student achievement and school performance.
Chris is excited to have CEA’s 43,000 members behind him. “As a teacher, I know just how important education is to the future of Connecticut,” he says. “With CEA’s support, I will fight for additional funding to hire and train teachers, to ensure access to early childhood education, and to expand and strengthen the Pell Grant program so college is within reach for every one of our students.”
“Donovan has done a remarkable job representing the people in the 84th Assembly District of Meriden and the state’s public school teachers. We know he will bring his strong values to the U.S. Congress, where he will continue to advocate for teachers and students,” added Apruzzese.
Earlier this year, CEA endorsed Chris Murphy in his bid for the U.S. Senate.
CEA endorsements are the result of a multi-faceted process, which includes a recommendation by CEA’s Political Action Committee, followed by a vote of the CEA Board of Directors.
