FAIRFAX, Va. — Virginia lawmakers head back to Richmond on Wednesday for the 2015 General Assembly session.
But ahead of that new session, on Saturday at the Fairfax County Government Center, state senators and delegates from Fairfax County listened to the needs and wants of county leaders, local organizations and residents.
On this year’s “wish list,” Fairfax County is calling on lawmakers to protect a vital investment in public education funding.
“On the top of our wish list is funding K-12,” says Sharon Bulova, chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. “The future growth of Northern Virginia’s economy, and consequently Virginia’s economy, depends on proper investment on K-12 education, which occurs only if the Commonwealth fully funds the Standard of Quality and provides a more fair calculation of the Local Composite Index.”
The index tells how much Virginia will pay and how much the state expects a locality to pay for education costs. It determines a school division’s ability to pay education costs fundamental to the commonwealth’s Standards of Quality.
Bulova says some of the funding formulas have been adjusted in the past because of the economic downturn. However, those adjustments are still in place, which means the county is not getting the amount of money it did before those adjustments were put in place before the recession.
Bulova says even though Fairfax county is described as wealthy, there are many residents and families that are struggling. She adds that 52,000 students in county public schools get free or reduce lunches.
And while Fairfax faces a projected $100 million shortfall for fiscal year 2016 due to the slow economic recovery, the county still managed to continue making important investments in K-12 education.
Saturday’s public hearing is held is each year. Sixty-five people signed up ahead of time to speak on Saturday; a few others signed up Saturday morning.
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