VACo spoke in opposition to HB 1969 (Delaney) and HB 1921 (Bourne) that seek to allow local school boards to retain unexpended funds appropriated to them by localities. The former bill has no other stipulations, while the latter mandates that such funding be dedicated to finance capital projects.
Currently, all year-end funds appropriated to local school divisions by the locality revert to the locality, retaining discretion with the governing body to evaluate and approve reallocation of year-end fund balances. The bills would subvert this authority given to localities and would be a dramatic policy change negatively impacting local governing bodies financially and in their relationships with other governmental entities.
Thank you to everyone who responded to our action alert and contacted your Delegates and express opposition to HB 1969 and HB 1921. The House Appropriations Committee’s Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee voted 5-3 to lay both bills on the table.
VACo Contact: Jeremy Bennett