NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - The board of directors of an education nonprofit financed by Connecticut taxpayers and a hedge fund founder’s family foundation is hoping to narrow its broad focus of helping the state’s troubled youth by reaching out for recommendations on how best to spend at least $200 million over the coming years.
Members of the Partnership for Connecticut’s board voted Monday to publicly release an official “request for information” later this week to eligible groups. It’s in hopes of learning more about what’s being done already in Connecticut, or not done, to help an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 disengaged or disconnected young people, ages 14 to 24, who’ve dropped out of school or who are at risk of dropping out, and are not succeeding and have missed numerous school days.
The request “should (provide) clarity on the mission - in other words what are we trying to do and for whom,” said Andrew Ferguson, senior adviser to the partnership’s board and chief education adviser to Dalio Philanthropies, which has pledged $100 million to the education initiative. That amount is being matched by the state of Connecticut over five years.
Qualified entities, including education and workforce development organizations, businesses offering entry-level jobs, community leaders, teachers and students, have until Jan. 24 to submit responses to the partnership through an online submission form. Those submissions will then be reviewed by a committee of board members, who will then make recommendations to the full board of directors, which includes Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont and legislative leaders.
The submissions are not formal applications for funding from the education partnership. Such grants won’t be awarded until the spring or summer of 2020, Ferguson said.
Data compiled for Dalio Philanthropies in a 2016 report and presented Monday to board members indicates 35 school systems in Connecticut between 2014-15 each had at least 250 disengaged for disconnected youth, while 113 systems each had at least 50 students. Out of 39,000 public high school students considered disengaged or disconnected, 78% were low income and 36% were minority boys. The data also indicate 9,000 disengaged youth are from towns with above-average incomes, which prompted board members to note it’s a statewide problem.
Monday marked the second official board meeting of the partnership, the brainchild of Lamont and Barbara Dalio, whose husband Ray Dalio founded Bridgewater Associates. Considered the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater manages about $160 billion in assets.
The public-private partnership has generated criticism from some parents and open government advocates, prompting calls for the General Assembly to repeal legislation that ultimately exempted the organization from state open records and meetings laws. On Monday, the entire board meeting was held in open session at the Yale University School of Management and copies of board members’ documents were provided to the public.
Besides the $100 million from the state and the $100 million contribution from the Dalios, it’s anticipated the education nonprofit will raise additional funds from other private donors.
Willa Perlman, CEO of LPA Search Partners, said her talent recruitment firm tasked with identifying CEO candidates has reached out to a pool of more than 225 people nationally. Perlman said her company has so far presented 13 candidates for the board’s search committee to consider. The firm is continuing to reach out to other potential candidates, with the goal of having someone in the job by March.
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