Despite Decade of Economic Growth Prior to Pandemic, State K-12 Funding Still Down

State funding for K-12 education is still down when compared to pre-Great Recession levels, despite a decade of economic growth prior to the pandemic. Schools are increasingly reliant on local governments for funding, with localities spending $4.4 billion more than the state required to meet the state’s staffing standards. New analysis shows that, if the revised Standards of Quality put forward by the Virginia Board of Education were fully funded for the budget year that begins July 1, 2021, divisions in Virginia would receive an additional $631 per student, on average, with some higher poverty divisions receiving around double that amount.

Those are just a few of the key findings summarized by The Commonwealth Institute’s latest analysis of K-12 facts and trends in Virginia. Summaries highlight enrollment, staffing, demographic, and funding* trends for Virginia’s public schools both statewide and for all 132 school divisions in a new, easy-to-read format. 

“Despite some recent state investments in K-12 schools, state support is still down from where we were a decade ago and falls far short of what the Virginia Board of Education says is needed to fully fund our schools,” says Chad Stewart, Manager of Education Policy and Development at The Commonwealth Institute. “Many schools with the highest child poverty rates are still down significantly in state support and would benefit most from Virginia funding its revised Standards of Quality.”

*Note: For Fiscal years 2021 and 2022, direct aid calculations were made with pre-pandemic student projections and 2020 regular session conference report funding levels to give a comparison of underlying trends. Enrollment has been unstable during the pandemic.