Here we go — Virginia is thinking of tinkering with the Local Composite Index, the state funding formula for how the state chips in for K-12 public education.
What does that mean for localities? Indecision. Which means that budgets will be all over the map, depending on whether or not the debate swings from a massive overhaul of the LCI, or slight tweaks.
Of course, we all know what’s needed — a vast overhaul of how Virginia’s education system receives its funding. Too many rural localities just squeak by in funding, while more developed localities not only push more local dollars towards education (because they can), but generally see a rise in test scores, performance, and the percentage of students that move on to higher education. Money to public schools isn’t the end-all-be-all, but it’s the essential soil in which young minds grow.
Unfortunately, reform is a rather loaded word during an election year. What you’re hearing from State Senator Edd Houck (D-Spotsylvania) isn’t terribly encouraging for reformers:
“The most troubling thing I heard today… is the whole composite index. That will set off a barnstorm of criticism and it’s going to be problematic to deal with that this year,” Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania, said today. “That will be one of the more troubling areas to deal with. There are huge winners and losers in that and we were able deal with it last year and basically mollify the whole thing. Now this is sort of turning that upside down. And in an election year, this is going to be a very difficult position to put forward.”
In other words, no one is going to risk the support of the Virginia Education Association by entertaining reform. Nice.
Now I don’t have a magic wand to wave over the funding formula, but it would sure be nice if the Commonwealth would baseline funding, then allow localities the freedom to additionally fund their public education system. Maybe even give localities the option of allowing local school boards to have taxing authority? That might be a bridge too far… but it would certainly make school boards more accountable to the taxpayers.
