The Joint Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education Funding met for the first time on Monday, September 16 to organize and review recommendations from the 2023 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) report on K-12 education funding. The work of this subcommittee is critical to moving forward with much needed funding reforms to the way in which the Commonwealth funds public schools. As such, following the meeting, VACo submitted formal public comments to the subcommittee urging that the General Assembly fund the state’s share of the true costs of education and begin with prioritizing the restoration of pre-recession levels of funding by fully eliminating the support cap. Any actions taken should not further reduce funding levels to localities as the vast majority are already funding their school divisions well above the required local effort. Counties interested in submitting their own comments can do so here.
The subcommittee is tasked with providing on-going direction and oversight of the Standards of Quality funding cost policies and making recommendations to their respective committees. As part of its oversight, the Joint Subcommittee shall: (i) review the recommendations and policy options offered in the JLARC’s July 2023 report, “Virginia’s K-12 Funding Formula”; (ii) determine the appropriateness of implementing each recommendation or policy option, (iii) propose appropriate amendments to each recommendation or policy option and (iv) develop a long-range plan for the phased implementation of its recommendations. In its deliberations, the Joint Subcommittee shall consider the long-term fiscal implications of each recommendation.
As previously reported, the JLARC report confirmed what many in county government knew to be true; that many school division administrators characterized the state’s staffing standards as unrealistic, often citing the difference between SOQ staffing calculations and the number of staff they actually needed to employ. This is further demonstrated by the fact that the state only recognizes 2/3 of actual staff employed by school divisions, with the single largest unrecognized staff category being teacher aides. Additionally, Virginia continues to provide less per-pupil funding than neighboring states, including Maryland, Kentucky, and West Virginia. This disparity places our school divisions at a disadvantage in recruiting and retaining high-quality educators and in delivering the instructional support that students require
During the Joint Subcommittee meeting, Senator Mamie E. Locke was elected to be chair of the subcommittee and Delegate Sam Rasoul was elected to be vice chair. The subcommittee received staff briefings giving an overview of the JLARC report findings and recommendations, subsequent actions taken by the Governor and General Assembly during the 2024 legislative session, and an overview of how other states fund their K-12 systems and how some have transitioned from staffing-based funding model similar to Virginia to a student-based funding model used in the majority of other states. The full meeting agenda, recording, and briefing materials can be accessed here.
VACo will continue to engage and provide updates as needed on the progress of the Joint Subcommittee as it plans to meet again on October 31, and if any recommendations are turned into legislation or budget language for the 2025 General Assembly session.
VACo Contact: Jeremy R. Bennett