Our Statement on House and Senate Proposed Budgets

Amid evolving federal challenges in education, Virginia lawmakers unveiled their state budget proposals today. While both the House and Senate plans make meaningful investments in our public schools, much more work remains to ensure full and fair funding for all students.

Key provisions in both budgets include:

• Fully lifting the “support cap”, a key priority for Fund Our Schools since the coalition was founded! This historic step provides $223 million to fully address and end the arbitrary “support cap” that limited state funding for support staff to below the prevailing number of staff. Because this is done through a new fixed ratio at the prevailing level, policymakers will need to make adjustments in future budgets to keep up with the needs of Virginia’s students. 
• For the first time, providing a flexible add-on for Virginia’s students with disabilities. JLARC’s report found that the state is providing far less help for students with disabilities than is needed or than local governments are providing. This $53 million flexible add-on is an important new funding mechanism in the budget that can be built on in years to come, similar to the At-Risk Add-On. 
• Removing the counterproductive private and religious school vouchers proposed in the governor’s budget. The $50 million program would have diverted public funds to private schools via vouchers. Research shows that private school vouchers do not increase student success while taking away funding from what we know does work: providing reliable, ongoing support for students facing the highest barriers by strengthening state funding for the schools that serve them.
• Increased support for family and community engagement in schools in both budgets: $2.5 million in the House and $1 million in the Senate.
• A $1000 bonus for school employees with no local match. While this investment of more than $130 million is a simple way to provide much needed funding support to school staff, it doesn’t take into account higher needs in some schools or different costs of living in different areas. Most state support is generally run through a needs-based funding formula. While we want our school staff to get compensation increases they need and deserve, this flat bonus will do nothing to address funding gaps between our high-wealth and high-poverty school divisions.

Part of how policymakers paid for these historic investments was through the use of some revenue in the state’s Lottery and Literary Funds, which are dedicated to K-12 schools. We appreciate that policymakers also used additional general funds to invest in improving school quality. However, at least the House (and perhaps Senate) budget reduces available Literary Fund resources for school construction, which is a step away from what students need in order to have adequate learning environments.

The amount of funding that our schools receive from the state has a massive impact on the education that our students receive. Strong, well-funded public schools are crucial to making sure that every child has access to a high-quality public education and the support they need to thrive, regardless of their zip code or how much money their family has.

Both of these budget proposals make progress towards fully and fairly funded public schools, but we still have a long way to go. We urge legislators to keep these important investments in the final budget to support our students, our schools, our families, and our communities.