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n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | J a n u a r y 2 0 2 0 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 25 E D U C A T I O N Continued on Page 26 Whose Partnership Is It, Anyway? A $300 million public-private initiative to help at-risk youth courts controversy — of its own making By Michael C. Bingham B y many measures (per-capita assets, number of millionaires in primary residence) Connecticut is the richest state in the union. It is also home to some of the poorest cities in the United States. Fairfield County personifies that contradiction, with one of the richest towns (Greenwich) and poorest cities (Bridgeport) within hailing distance. e flashpoint for the state's wealth gap is public education. Since the founding of the Republic, public schools have been a creature of their local communities, governed by parents of children attending those schools. In Connecticut there are 169 municipalities, each with its own schools paid for (mainly) with local tax dollars. e quality of those, then, naturally reflects the wealth gap of those communities. High-performing schools in rich towns send kids to Princeton; non- performing schools in poor cities oen send kids to prison. Now a billionaire from the richest town, Greenwich, wants to do something about public education in the poorest city, Bridgeport, and other distressed cities throughout the state. e billionaire — hedge-fund whiz Ray Dalio — has pledged big bucks — $100 million — to help. at's a lot of money, but only a drop in the bucket compared to a statewide $8 billion education budget. So the billionaire and his wife made their gi conditional on state government ponying up another $100 million — and then (somehow) raising a third $100 million from private sources including foundations and rich people. at's $300 million, and to borrow from late U.S. Sen. Everett Dirksen, pretty soon you're talking about real money. e entity charged with overseeing this effort is called the Partnership for Connecticut. Its mission is to connect "disengaged and disconnected" young people (aged 14 to 24) to educational and career opportunities. "Disengaged" refers to students who may be struggling academically and in danger of quitting school. "Disconnected" means just that — no school, no skills, no job. e Partnership estimates that 39,000 public high-school students fall into one of those groups. To address the issue, the partnership aims to fund programs for at-risk students in low- performing school districts to improve graduation rates and help new graduates access job training leading to rewarding career paths. e Partnership is governed by a 13-member board of directors including leaders from the public sector (including the governor), top lawmakers, the head of the state teachers union and executives from the Dalio Foundation, including the billionaire's wife. e Partnership is a private, nonprofit entity, but because it has been granted a significant stake of taxpayer dollars, many observers believe the organization ought to do its business in the bright light of day for all to see. But that's not guaranteed to happen: When the General Assembly approved the unusual public-private arrangement last year, it exempted the partnership from open meeting and Freedom of Information laws. As a result, during its inaugural meeting October 18, most of the Partnership's business was conducted behind closed doors, in executive session. is was a problem, one that has generated significant criticism and pushback. Now an initiative born of bright hopes and best intentions has become mired in controversy, a product in part of a determination not to allow public transparency and accountability to gum up its functioning. e board is chaired by Erik Clemons, CEO of the Connecticut Center for Arts & Technology (ConnCAT) in New Haven. Its day- to-day operations are handled (for now) by Andrew Ferguson, senior staffer with Dalio Philanthropies. ere are five elected officials on the Partnership's board of directors — Gov. Ned Lamont and the top two lawmakers from each political party in each chamber of the legislature. Because the legislators are subject to disclosure requirements of state ethics law, they are not members of the executive committee. e board's first biggest challenge is hiring a chief executive, and the Partnership has retained a search firm, LPA Search Partners, to interview and shortlist candidates. LPA is being paid $69,300, according to the budget approved by the board. e CEO position is budgeted at a salary of $247,500. Gov. Ned Lamont, Barbara Dalio and Partnership board chairman Erik Clemons at the group's Dec. 16 meeting at the Yale School of Management.

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