30 | HARTFORD BUSINESS JOURNAL • OCTOBER 2, 2017
children the chance at a better education.
"It does address concerns around segregation,"
Florio said. "It does provide opportunities for
inner-city youth to learn in integrated settings.
I think that works for the suburban students as
well as the Hartford students."
The CREC magnets have certainly changed the
education landscape, sometimes putting pressure
on the area's public schools. That's because public
school districts must pay $6,000 of the $10,000
annual tuition for each student from their town
that enrolls in a magnet. The state of Connecticut
picks up the balance. As many of the state's towns
struggle to fund public schools, the CREC magnet
line item can be a flashpoint during budget
seasons.
As Florio put it, "With resources becoming scarce,
we're competing not for the students, but we're
competing for the dollars behind those students."
A laptop in every classroom
While the Sheff v. O'Neill decision is unique to
the Hartford region, one factor that's impacted
schools throughout the world, along with local
ones, is technology. Just as most occupations
now incorporate computers and other electronic
devices, so do classrooms.
CREC's Florio recalled that when he was a
superintendent in the 1990s, having an internet
connection with a handful of computers was
cutting-edge.
"Now we've gotten to a point where for the same
cost we are able to outfit an entire school with
laptops," he said.
Meanwhile, colleges throughout the region have
seen a dramatic increase in the demand and
The University of St. Joseph was one of the first colleges to add a presence in downtown Hartford when it
opened its School of Pharmacy in the XL Center.
A look inside the University of St. Joseph's pharmacy school.
Construction crews finished the buildout of UConn's new downtown Hartford campus earlier this summer.
