RICHMOND, Va. — A report on Virginia's K-12 education released Monday found the state's public schools are underfunded when compared to national and regional averages.
The Virginia General Assembly ordered the study during the 2021 legislative session and asked the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to assess the costs to implement standards to ensure quality.
The study found that Virginia is underfunded by 14% when compared to the 50-state average and is 4% underfunded when compared to South Atlantic regional averages.
It also found that state funding for special education has declined, but funding for at-risk students and English learners has increased.
Some of the report's recommendations include addressing technical issues with Virginia's formula to determine how schools are funded, discontinuing Great Recession-era cost reduction measures and developing new staffing ratios.
All the recommendations totaled would end up being around $3.5 billion.
David Woodard, the president of the Virginia School Boards Association, reacted to the findings of the report saying, "The report released today by JLARC shows what school board members and superintendents have known for many years... Policymakers at the state level must seek practical solutions to assist our divisions whose localities cannot afford to fund the resources needed to provide students with a quality public education."
Virginia Association of School Superintendents President Kristy Somerville-Midgette stated the following, “This report reinforces the need for the General Assembly to immediately support additional funding for FY 24 that further invests in our teachers, schools and especially the Commonwealth’s children.”
This latest development comes as lawmakers argue over what to do with the state's $3.6 billion budget surplus.
What Democratic Senate lawmakers want with the surplus:
Democratic lawmakers said they are pushing for a $2 billion allocation to public school funding and mental health resources.
In recent meetings, democrats in the state Senate argued against Governor Glenn Youngkin's push to implement new tax cuts. Democrats called this a risky decision, as the economic environment over the next year is uncertain.
State Sen. Scott Surovell (D-District 36) Tweeted in response to the JLARC report, saying, "House GOP wants to cut taxes on corporations so they pay a lower tax rate than individuals & help the Gov's presidential campaign."
State Sen. Mamie Locke (D-District 2) is a long-time educator and education advancement advocate.
The Hampton representative responded to the JLARC report and Governor Youngkin's push for his agenda, saying:
"Senate Democrats are adamantly opposed to tax cuts. The recent JLARC report released yesterday clearly shows that Virginia has been underfunding K-12 education for years, and we fall below the national and regional averages in funding.
"The Senate is clearly on the right track regarding funding for public education and instead of playing politics with our children's lives, the $2 billion request to fund K-12 and mental health resources is a minimal ask out of the $3.6 billion surplus."
What Governor Youngkin wants to do with the surplus:
Governor Youngkin has proposed a $427.7 million allocation of the surplus to public school funding.
In a Tweet in response to the JLARC report, Gov. Youngkin boasted about his efforts to ensure schools received proper funding, saying, "the budget we passed last year was the largest education budget in history."
The budget passed last year was a bi-partisan deal among lawmakers.
Youngkin proposed an additional $1 billion in tax cuts for FY24 in addition to the school funding.
In the past, the governor also pushed for funding for special lab schools at private colleges.
13News Now asked Gov. Youngkin's spokeswoman about the governor's reaction to the JLARC report and the fact that State Senate lawmakers said they want to invest $2 billion into schools and mental health resources.
We also asked how the governor thinks his recent proposals to approve $1 billion in tax cuts could impact his push to fund schools and how his push to fund lab schools in private colleges would also come into play for his multi-million-dollar proposal.
His spokeswoman responded with a statement, saying:
"JLARC’s report ignored the record education funding and 10% raises for our teachers that Governor Youngkin has already made. While liberals make the false claim that you aren’t able to invest in schools and cut taxes, the governor will continue to push to save Virginians money.
"With a multibillion-dollar surplus, we can both fund education, behavioral health, and public safety while lowering the cost of living for Virginians."
Negotiations for the budget surplus stalled on the General Assembly's floor, leaving lawmakers without a finalized deal as they entered the fiscal year on July 1.
Governor Youngkin's office said he is currently working on his next steps.