The Latest from VEA

MEDIA ADVISORY

The state budget approved earlier today is the product of compromise, and it shows. While some provisions clearly benefit students and educators throughout the Commonwealth, such as the partial lifting of the support cap and raises for educators that includes bonus pay, other items will serve as an impediment to advancing the quality of public education in Virginia, such as the slashing of At-Risk funding for high poverty school divisions compared to the introduced budget.

“In a year when the Commonwealth is experiencing a budget surplus, Virginians expect, and deserve, better,” said Dr. James J. Fedderman, President of the Virginia Education Association (VEA). “While we welcome the positive changes made in this budget, we urge the Governor and legislators to continue working toward the shared goal of protecting and improving public education in Virginia for every child, particularly our students from households experiencing poverty.”

VEA endorsed the following provisions:

• 5% salary increases for teachers and state supported school staff positions each year over the next two school years, and a $1,000 bonus for the next school year. While this represents an improvement from recent budget proposals this past winter, inflation has increased dramatically since that time. VEA is urging the lawmakers to request an off-year rebenchmarking of school costs and to take stock of real salary change for the next legislative session to help deal with this problem.
• $272 million included to partially lift the ‘support cap’, which will increase the number of critical support staff in our schools. This new investment to partially lift the ‘support cap’ represents a major win and recognition of the harm that the state funding support cap continues to inflict on school divisions, and we call on lawmakers to continue to prioritize fully lifting this cap.
• $20 million to ensure a school principal is in every school in the state and no schools have to share one. This is a long-standing request from the VEA and other state education stakeholders. Research is conclusive that principals make a big difference in student outcomes, and we welcome this new ongoing investment.
• Up to $1.25 billion in state funding freed up through the General Fund and Literary Fund for a combination of loans and direct support for school construction over the coming two years. This is a large investment to support school infrastructure and modernization to help address Virginia’s $25 billion school infrastructure backlog over the coming years.

VEA is disappointed by the following provisions:

• At-Risk Add On for high poverty school divisions nearly cut in half, by -$123 million from the introduced budget. Despite promises to focus resources to schools that need them most, the compromise budget includes a dramatic decrease in state funding to assist school divisions with the highest poverty rates, compared to the introduced budget.
• A $22 million cut in funding from the introduced budget for improving English learner instructor to student ratios. This represents a targeted cut for a student population that is uniquely vulnerable and has faced the most barriers to education over the pandemic – seeing the largest percentage drops across the board for pass rates on state tests of any student group measured. With Virginia providing among the lowest state supplemental support of English learners nationally, there is no reasonable rationale for this cut, and it will further negatively impact the student group that needs the most support right now.
• $1.6 billion for increasing the standard deduction. The ramifications of such a large reduction in  state revenue may be felt  for  years to come and will impact  our ability to reach stated goals that will collectively cost many billions of dollars, like getting to the national average on teacher pay or updating our crumbling school infrastructure. VEA calls on lawmakers to review the findings of the bipartisan tax study to be released this fall and modernize our tax system so that we can adequately fund our school priorities.