Anonymous Philanthropist Donates $25M To Proposed Danbury School

DANBURY, CT — An anonymous philanthropist has donated $25 million to the proposed Prospect Charter School in Danbury, which would fund the building's construction.

Plans, authorized by the state Board of Education in 2018, see the school opening this fall, but the General Assembly has not approved funding. The school would be operated by Prospect Schools, based in Brooklyn, N.Y., and would educate students in grades six through 12.

"Danbury Prospect will be essential to Danbury's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and part of a comprehensive solution to proactively address the increased demand on our school system," said Mayor Joseph Cavo, a Republican.

Enthusiasm for the project has been split along party lines. The school enjoys support from Cavo's predecessor, Mark Boughton, and Stephen Harding, a Republican representing Danbury and the 107th District in Hartford.

Democratic State Senator Julie Kushner, posting on the Danbury Democratic Town Committee's website, opposes the school: "A charter school would drain much-needed funds from our school budget. Danbury schools would lose state funding for students enrolled in the charter, but still have financial responsibility for many of the charter’s operational costs, like buses, school nurses, cafeteria workers."

In order forDanbury Prospect to open, Gov. Ned Lamont will have to include funding for year one of the project, serving 110 sixth-graders, in his upcoming executive budget.

In June, the city will ask residents to vote on the funding for another ambitious education project, the $93 million Danbury Career Academy. About $75 million of that price tag would be reimbursed by the state.