RICHMOND, Va. — Advocates and Democratic lawmakers held a news conference Thursday to say it was time for Virginia to lift an arbitrary cap on how much the state helps local school divisions pay for school support staff like front office staff, custodians, and teacher aides.
“This is a matter of prioritizing our children's futures,” said Monica Hutchinson, the Policy Director of RISE for youth and a Henrico County Public Schools parent.
During the Great Recession in 2009, Virginia placed a cap on how much it funded and advocates said that led to a drop in support staff, while student enrollment rose and teachers had to take on more roles.
"Which meant that they were doing more than just instruction and taking on being the janitor, being an administrative person… With lifting the support cap, it now means that teachers can do what they were hired to do and that was to be teachers and spending more time being instructors," said Sen. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton).
Lawmakers have been incrementally raising the cap in recent years, with the current provision funding 24 support staff per 1,000 students. Language included in the budgets passed by Democrat-led chambers aims to raise this to 27.9 per 1,000 students.
Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) noted the broader implications of the state's financial support.
“This has a broad ripple effect when the state comes in to pay its fair share in supporting the necessary staff for our public education system,” she said. “Localities can then continue to support all of the other essential services that they necessarily must provide.”
According to the Commonwealth Institute's analysis, this adjustment could result in a significant increase in support staff across various school divisions.
"The city of Petersburg, they'll receive a little over $1.2 million which will fund an additional 16 support staff -- could fund an additional 16,” said Ashley Kenneth, President and CEO of The Commonwealth Institute. “The City of Richmond will receive a little over $3.1 million and that is enough funding for 78 additional support staff."
Despite this push, some Republican lawmakers and the Virginia Department of Education have voiced opposition, suggesting a more comprehensive review of the education funding formula is necessary.
“This may be a little premature in terms of chipping around the edges of school funding instead of looking at the overall picture of what it takes to fund the school systems where it's working, where it's not, and how do we make it fair and equitable for everyone,” said Del. Mike Cherry (R-Colonial Heights).
As both chambers align on the budget language concerning this issue, the outcome now rests with Gov. Glenn Youngkin. A spokesperson for Youngkin noted he will review the budget when it reaches his desk.
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