How much money should school districts with the poorest students get? That’s an issue that will be debated in Richmond next month.
Virginia is one of six states where school districts with the least poverty receive more funding per student than districts with the most amount of poverty. That upside down model of funding is why Virginia gets a failing grade for funding distribution from the Education Law Center.
Chris Duncome at the Commonwealth Institute says lawmakers can take action to remedy this imbalance by increasing funding for Virginia’s at-risk add-on program.
“Our education funding formula largely assumes the cost of educating a student is about the same no matter what type of student that is regardless of the different services that they'll will need.”
In the last General Assembly session, Delegate Laschrecse Aird, a Democrat from Petersburg tried to get an additional $64 million for the fund to help the poorest students.
“They have a significant need, and as a commonwealth we should feel obligated to invest in those districts and invest in those students so that we get the greatest outcome in the end.”
Although she had support from Republicans in rural districts, the effort fell flat. Now Governor Ralph Northam is hoping to add $35 million to the at-risk add-on fund. Lawmakers will hash out the details when they arrive in Richmond next month.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
