The Half Sheet

What we need is tax reform that ensures everyone contributes their fair share to build the thriving communities that we all want to live in. To get there though, we can’t afford to provide lucrative tax giveaways to those who need it least while providing a relative pittance to average Virginians.

We have compiled the latest data in an easy-to-read one page infographic that offers a snapshot of the key facts about immigrants in the state and the economic contributions immigrants make to our economy.

It’s important that voters know how the candidates plan to improve educational opportunities and give every student a chance to pursue their career ambitions and to help grow Virginia’s economy.

Reduced state support for Richmond City Public Schools has had very real impacts on school facilities and on the activities of teachers and students in the classroom.

Issue platforms by the current candidates for Virginia Governor, including Republican candidate Ed Gillespie, Libertarian candidate Cliff Hyra, and Democratic candidate Ralph Northam, include proposals to modify or eliminate Virginia’s local business taxes, modify Virginia’s individual income tax, and eliminate the state portion of Virginia’s sales tax on groceries.

It’s time for Virginia to expand Medicaid so that our people can get the care they need to go to work, take care of their kids, and be healthy, productive members of their community.

When it comes to tax cuts for the rich, the promised economic growth often fails to materialize. This time around, we should ask lawmakers to choose a different path.

Rolling back DACA would hurt our communities, the economy, and the United States’ moral standing in the world as a welcoming and humane nation.

Virginia’s public schools and students have long endured resource challenges, many stemming from state or local funding reductions during and after the recession. Now, they may be facing dramatic cuts from the federal government.

enrollment, staffing, demographic, and funding trends for each of Virginia’s 132 school divisions and statewide.

Addressing the historical inequalities that created racial and economic segregation in the commonwealth is not an easy task. Yet by working together and implementing programs to address economic segregation and isolation, we can alleviate some of these challenges and start to expand educational access and opportunity for all Virginia children.

As we move forward to proposed tax reform and budgets – both state and federal – an equal level of scrutiny ought to be applied both to tax breaks and to how we choose to invest in communities.