By Maria- Paula
Following the release of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission’s (JLARC),report on Virginia’s K–12 Funding Formula, the Virginia House Democratic leadership, members of the House Education Committee and the JLARC lambasted House Republican representatives for not putting focus on funding Virginia’s public schools.
Results of a legislative study recently released suggested a review of the funding system in order for local schools to gain maximum benefit from the public education fund. The new report doesn’t consider approximately $3.2 billion in new funding allocations to Virginia schools over the past recent years.
Around 39% ($20.1 billion) of the public schools fund in Virginia is from the state; 52% is from localities and 9% from the federal government.
The General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission highlighted flaws in the 18-month review that showed the state allocation is insufficient for the Virginia school system and needed improvement.
“In brief, we found that Virginia school divisions receive less funding per student than divisions in other states,” JLARC Chief Legislative Analyst Mark Gribbin said as he presented the results of a lengthy study the General Assembly requested two years ago.
JLARC revealed that Virginia public schools receive 14% less funding from the state than the 50-state average, quantified to approximately $1,900 less for each student. This amount is 4% less than the more localized average in West Virginia, Kentucky and Maryland. Nonetheless, Virginia still spends more on K-12 schools than North Carolina and Tennessee.
“Our public schools are woefully underfunded and understaffed. It is our children who are suffering because extremists in the Virginia GOP would rather fund corporate giveaways than their education. It is well past time the Republicans got serious about protecting and supporting our children and worked with us to make sure that our students have access to the best teachers, the best resources, and the best education possible,” said Don Scott, House Democratic Leader.
According to JLARC, Virginia’s Standards of Quality, SOQ, funding formula undermines how much funding schools require. This in turn bars the government from its responsibility to provide every Virginia child with quality education through the K-12 funding program.
House Education Committee member and former School Board member Delegate Shelly Simonds weighed into the discussion by saying the JLARC report only confirms that children in the public education sector needed more support. She urged the Virginia Republicans to stop prioritizing tax cuts for the biggest corporations and put the children first adding that legislators, on both sides of the aisle must make sure that every child in Virginia has access to a world-class education.
“Our children are receiving a fraction of the resources that they need to achieve a proper and well-rounded education,” said Delegate Luke Torian, member of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. “It is imperative that we fully fund our schools, including hiring and paying top-notch educators, so that our children are equipped with the tools and skills they need to succeed.”
JLARC chair Senator Janet Howell, Fairfax (D), called on all school boards, county boards and the General Assembly candidates to study the 163-page school spending report as they approached the electioneering season.
“I would advise all candidates, to read this study, be informed about it and grapple with the implications now that the Republicans are pushing for tax cuts while Democrats are allowing for an increase in school funding,” said Howell.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposals to change the state’s school accreditation system, boost expectations for standardized tests, improve math and reading performance and provide more career and technical education opportunities still stood.
Youngkin’s response attached to the JLARC report read:
“The report makes it clear that without reforms, increased investments in K-12 spending will likely not translate to improved student outcomes.”
General recommendations on the report suggested a student-based funding system contrary to the currently used staff-based formula in Virginia. This could simplify the states overall school funding system and produce positive results.
“A well-designed student-based funding model would be more accurate, more transparent, and easier to maintain over time than Virginia’s current staffing-based formula,” the report read.
Short term recommendations by JLARC suggested that the state make averagely $1 billion in changes to boost funding for schools. The changes included consideration for students living in poverty, funding schools the state’s $250 million, putting an end to cost-saving measures adapted during the Great Recession and changing how the commonwealth calculates salaries by using division averages.
Amongst the long-term recommendations were changes on the formula to reflect actual staffing levels currently at $1.86 billion and providing extra funding to small school divisions with fewer than 2,000 students at $80 million.
Although the commission made several recommendations on what could possibly aid Virginias school match the national averages, they did not stress for the changes to be made all at once even as JLARC member Barry Knight, Virginia Beach(R), House Appropriations Chairman, is trying to negotiate a budget bill with Howell.
