History

The Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) began in 1966 as a grassroots organization of local school districts working together to solve common problems.  

Today, CREC is one of six Regional Educational Service Centers (RESCs) established under Connecticut General Statute 10-66 a-n, which permits local boards of education to establish a RESC as a “public educational authority” for the purpose of “cooperative action to furnish programs and services.”

Such intermediate units – that are smaller than state departments of education, yet larger than local school districts – are used to deliver services in about 40 states.

The organization:

  • Regularly serves 35 member districts (36 towns) in Greater Hartford
  • Reaches additional towns/districts through a number of statewide services and programs
  • Assists more than 150,000 students each year
  • Offers more than 120 programs
  • Manages more than 20 facilities in nearly a dozen towns, including 17 interdistrict magnet schools

About School Choice:

Sheff v O'Neill

Interdistrict magnet schools were created as a result of the landmark Sheff v. O’Neill civil rights claim made on behalf of school-aged residents in Hartford. On July 9, 1996, the Connecticut Supreme Court decided Sheff in favor of the plaintiffs and declared, “the uncontested evidence of the severe racial and ethnic isolation of Hartford’s schoolchildren demonstrates that the state has failed to fulfill its affirmative constitutional obligation to provide all of the state’s school children with a substantially equal educational opportunity.” There are 17 CREC magnet schools, 21 Hartford host magnet schools, 2 magnet schools operated by LEARN/Goodwin College, 2 host magnet schools operated by Bloomfield Public Schools, and 1 host magnet school operated by East Hartford.

Funding: CREC is supported by local, state, federal and private funds. Local school districts become members of CREC with an annual fee of 20 cents per pupil. Each CREC program is discreetly funded with a budget that completely supports its operation and contributes a proportionate share to CREC’s overall management and development.

Leadership: The governing Council of CREC is comprised of one representative from each of the 35 school districts in the Capitol Region. The representatives come from each district’s publicly elected board of education to form the CREC Council and to make policy decisions. 

The Council elects a 10-person Board of Directors representing small, medium and large districts. The Board meets monthly as part of the Council, with an announced agenda that includes policy, programmatic, personnel and fiscal items. The control of the Capitol Region Education Council rests squarely at the local level. For an overview of the CREC Council, click HERE.

In January 2016, Dr. Greg J. Florio became CREC's fourth Executive Director. He served as Superintendent of Schools in Cheshire, Connecticut from 2004 through 2015 and as the district's Assistant Superintendent of Management Services from 1991 to 2003. Dr. Florio's career in Business and Finance includes positions with the Consolidated School District of New Britain and in the corporate sector. He continues to serve as an Adjunct Professor, teaching Educational Leadership at Southern Connecticut State University. For an overview of CREC (Agency) Leadership, click HERE.

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