As students head back to school, they'll be walking into classrooms that receive different levels of funding based on where they are located.
Arlington County spends the most amount of money per pupil, almost $20,000. Radford spends the least, less than $10,000. That's according to state data from every jurisdiction compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project.
"Although it says that Arlington pays a lot, they also have a high cost of living," says Carol Bauer, president of the Virginia Education Association. "And so, even though they have what looks like a high cost per students that they're spending, when we actually adjust that for that NOVA region, it is not as high as it really should be either."
Although places like Falls Church and Charlottesville are toward the top of the list for spending per pupil, so are places like Surry County and Highland County. Levi Goren at the Commonwealth Institute says local governments often make investments when the state does not.
"A lot of Virginia school divisions that can afford to do so are spending a lot more than the state funding formula requires or assumes because the state formula frankly falls very short of meeting the needs of our students," Goren says.
Members of the General Assembly are trying to make some changes to even things out. But critics say some of the austerity measures put into place after the Great Recession 15 years ago are still there and continuing to create challenges.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
