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Get the Facts - FAQs

Question:  Haven't education costs sky-rocketed in Virginia over the past decade?

Answer:  No. 

• As a percent of the state budget, public education has stayed roughly the same since 1998.  Yet schools and students are faced with meeting higher standards and accountability under federal and state laws, and greater competition in the global marketplace.  "Direct Aid to Localities for Public Education," a presentation to the Joint Subcommittee on Elementary & Secondary Education Funding, October 7, 2008.

 

Q:  Didn't we "fix" K-12 funding in 2004, and again in 2008?

Answer:  No. 

• Seven staffing standards have not been funded, including full-time elementary school principals, assistant principals, reading and math specialists, and staff for the blind and vision impaired. 
• A change adopted in 2008 to the Standards of Quality will "cap" inflation costs, reducing state K-12 funding by more than $10 million a year. 
• Localities pay an overwhelming part of K-12 capital expenses--school buildings, buses, playgrounds, etc.  In 2007, localities covered 92% of these expenses.

Q:  What is "re-benchmarking" state funding for public education and why is it important?

What:  Every other year the Commonwealth is required to update state-recognized public education costs.  State-recognized costs are not the same as actual costs.

Why:  The process is intended to account for the increased costs including those attributable to inflation and enrollment.  However, the state uses two-year old data to calculate the costs, and the state formula weights costs clustered around the middle five times that of extremes.

Q:  How do we know that localities aren't wasting money?

A:  To date, 31 school divisions have undergone extensive Efficiency Reviews with the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget to ensure that tax dollars are wisely spent.

Q:  Are Virginia's students making good on our investment in them?

A:  Yes!  In 2008, Virginia's students improved their SAT scores in reading, writing, and mathematics, and more minority students took the tests.  Also in 2008, Virginia's 8th grade students out-performed students nationwide on the national writing assessment (NAEP), and ranked third highest in the nation on Advanced Placement Achievement tests.  Virginia is also narrowing the achievement gap for African-American and Hispanic students in English and math.

Q:  What about making sure at-risk students succeed? 

A:  The General Assembly has recognized that poor children are more at risk of educational failure and need more resources to improve their academic performance. (Va Code Ann. Section 22.1-199.1). 

Q:  What if the General Assembly reduced at-risk funding?

A:  Reducing at-risk funds will lead to:  higher dropout rates, lower achievement, shifting costs from state to local governments, and increased inequity.

Q:  Is the Virginia Preschool Initiative, which provides for at-risk four-year-olds, worth the money?

A:  Targeted preschool pays Virginia back.  Short-term benefits (years 1-5) amount to $166.6 million in special education savings, child welfare savings, increased earnings for parents, and more.  Medium-term benefits (years 6-17) amount to $2.247 billion in decreased grade retention, reductions in juvenile and adult crime, child welare and special education savings, and increased earnings and tax revenue.