Part of a series on state educational finance, this manual aims to help Connecticut educators, legislators, and citizens understand school finance reforms by giving them an overview of Connecticut's public elementary and secondary school financing plan and by exploring selected issues in financial equity in education. An introductory chapter traces the legal history of school finance reform in the 1970s, explaining the importance of Serrano v. Priest and other decisions. Chapter two reviews Connecticut's economy, the fiscal structure of its state and local governments, and the concept of fiscal effort. In chapter three the manual reports the level of state aid to Connecticut schools and discusses the state's Guaranteed Tax Base (GTB) formula for equalizing educational revenues, which incorporates measures of school district wealth and need. Exercises help the reader learn to compute the GTB formula. The final chapter analyzes statewide disparities in district expenditures, needs, wealth, and tax effort and compares district wealth with educational services. Appended is an explanation of how Connecticut is phasing in full funding of the GTB plan. (Author/RW)