HAMPTON ROADS, Va. – A major miscalculation in state aid could cause negative ripple effects for school districts in Hampton Roads and Virginia.
Leaders with the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) say the error led to an overestimated amount of funding promised to school districts totaling approximately $201 million for this school year and next. As a result, schools could be getting less aid than expected.
According to the Virginia Education Association (VEA), Newport News Public Schools is estimated to have $1.6 million less for the current school year and $3.9 million less next school year
NNPS second-grade teacher Cary Nolan worries cuts might be made to make up for the loss.
“I’m afraid that we as teachers, number one, we don’t get paid enough already. Number two, I’m afraid it’s going to affect funding for the schools and limit our resources even more than does now,” Nolan said.
On Jan. 23, the VDOE discovered the tool it uses to calculate how much money each school district gets, did not factor in the repealed state grocery tax, which helped fund schools.
VDOE spokesman Charles Pyle said the local basic aid funding estimate was overstated.
In a statement, Pyle said, “The actual allocations to school divisions have been accurate and the Governor's budget is accurate. VDOE leadership alerted General Assembly appropriations staff, the Governor's Office, VASS leadership, and the Department of Budget and Planning (DPB). A new estimating tool will be provided for school divisions to use next week when the House and Senate approve their respective versions of the budget.”
In a statement, Virginia Education Association (VEA) President Dr. James J. Fedderman called the miscalculation a blow to already underfunded public schools.
“It is inexcusable that due to an error on the part of Gov. Youngkin’s administration, already underfunded school divisions from across the Commonwealth could be getting even less funding than they were promised. It now falls on the General Assembly to clean up the mess the administration created with their incompetence and make an amendment to the state budget to fix this problem immediately. With $4.5 billion in available funding in this budget, lawmakers have more than adequate funds available to fix this mistake, as well as help account for massive inflation over the past two years. Gov. Youngkin will have to live with less tax breaks for profitable corporations in this budget so schools don’t have to pay for his administration’s mistake.”
Chad Stewart, a policy analyst with the VEA, said the announcement was startling.
“I think many of us were blindsided in the education community,” he said.
Stewart said lots of school districts have already put together their budgets for next school year.
“To hear all of a sudden that the numbers from the state were wrong and there was a huge hole in local budgets, that was very troubling, and it set a lot of people into panic mode.”
Portsmouth Public Schools would be among the hardest hit in the state because of the size of the school district. Stewart said Portsmouth’s school district would have the 13th highest per student loss in the state.
“That is a big standout,” he said. “They would lose $240 per student from this mistake and with all their students, when you add that up, that’s a massive hit.”
Portsmouth school leaders have a projected reduction in Basic Aid revenue of $867,000 for FY 2022-23 and $2.14 million for FY 2023-24.
“These are still preliminary projections as it is my understanding superintendents from across the state are still engaging in conversations with elected officials to find additional support,” said spokesperson Lauren Nolasco.
At Virginia Beach City Public Schools, officials estimate they’ll have a reduction in State Basic Aid for FY2022/23 and FY2023/24 of $3,263,636 and $8,063,470 respectively.
“We are addressing these reductions in the current fiscal year and in the development of our FY2023/24 budget,” said spokesperson Julie Braley.
If school districts do have to cut positions, VEA Policy Analyst Stewart said the students will feel the impact.
“If you have to make cuts out of a school division, that could be cuts to essential positions - nurses, counselors, special needs assistants,” he said. “The fact of the matter is, the day-to-day operations of schools depend on these people. Cuts in many of these divisions for critical support staff could have immediate impacts on students and the quality of care and services they receive at school.”
NNPS elementary teacher Cary Nolan said he’s hopeful lawmakers will resolve the problem.
“I just think they need to allot more funds for us knowing what our needs are,” he said.
All eyes will now be on what the House and Senate do for each of their proposed budgets on Sunday.
School administration officials are hoping lawmakers will make them whole and allot more money.
