Education
Virginia Board of Education to Lawmakers: Fix School Funding
Last Thursday, the Virginia Board of Education unanimously approved a set of recommendations that would significantly improve support for Virginia schools. The vote sends a clear message to the General Assembly that it’s time for the state to fix the school funding formula.
Reduced Funding for Virginia Schools Threatens Future Workforce and Puts Businesses and Communities at Risk
The future of Virginia’s children, communities, and commonwealth depends heavily on the quality of K-12 schools, yet Virginia continues to rank among the states that have made the deepest cuts in its support for its schools and students. Virginia should take a better approach – one informed by solid research in the field – and invest the resources needed to be a place where every child, no matter where they live, has a chance to get a top-quality education.
Virginia’s Board of Education Considers Fixes to School Funding
Today the Virginia Board of Education will discuss a series of proposals for final consideration next month that would send a clear message to Virginia lawmakers that it’s time to fix how the state supports schools here in Virginia.
The Soaring Cost of Virginia’s Public Universities
State funding cuts for higher education have increased tuition and mandatory fees at Virginia’s public universities, making college less affordable, and jeopardizing the ability of many students to receive the college education that is key to their long-term financial success and essential to growing Virginia’s economy.
Be Heard by School Funding Decision Makers
A series of public hearings the state Board of Education is holding on the needs of public schools is an excellent opportunity for Virginians to tell the Board that cuts in support for education have hurt schools and kids and stand in the way of helping all communities to thrive.
Shared Challenges: Underfunded Schools
A series of public hearings the state Board of Education is holding on the needs of public schools is an excellent opportunity for Virginians to tell the Board that cuts in support for education have hurt schools and kids and stand in the way of helping all communities to thrive.
Low Revenues Could Mean Virginia Falls Further Behind on Teacher Pay
If the two percent pay increase for teachers is cut, Virginia will have missed yet another opportunity to make the investments that help kids thrive. And this failure will particularly sting as it will come in a budget initially celebrated for investing in education.
Weighing Support in Each Virginia School Division
Since publishing that report we’ve run the numbers for every school division in the state in the table below. The divisions highlighted in green are the 10 divisions that would see the largest funding increase. A PDF version is available here.
Making A Fair Comparison When Looking at School Spending
As the public and media hold their local schools accountable, we cannot ignore that different students have different costs associated with their education. The evidence is very clear that students from low-income families have substantially greater needs and require additional resources. Failing to provide adequate resources presents a false choice to schools: cut services for the general student body or ignore the specialized needs of low-income students.