Hopefully, you are now aware that the budget proposed by former Governor Tim Kaine (D) delayed the recalculation for cost savings. This delay will cost Loudoun $34 million in education revenue unless current Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) moves to allow the recalculation to occur in a modified budget.
Less of a partisan issue than a regional one, Loudoun County Public Schools, the School Board, our delegation to the General Assembly, the Board of Supervisors and the business community have each come forward in opposition to the idea of delaying the recalculation. Even those in favor of a more streamlined school system should be in favor of an equitable distribution of state funds. Higher taxes or drastically reduced funding is the likely result of the plan as it currently stands.
With the overwhelming regional resistance to freezing the LCI calculation, readers could assume that recalculation is certain to occur. This is not the case. It remains a regional issue and there are more jurisdictions that profit from this scheme than suffer from it. There is a good chance that Loudoun will lose out on this one without a mobilization campaign which seeks to enlist out statewide elected leaders.
This is the issue with the highest potential impact to the quality of life in Loudoun schools, and Loudoun in general, this year. With that in mind, the following open letter was released by several members of the Loudoun Board of Supervisors:
To the Editor:
We have an important issue facing Loudoun County that we would like all residents to be aware of. Governor Tim Kaine proposed a freeze for the Local Composite Index that will cost Loudoun schools $34 million.
The Local Composite Index has been a long-standing method that the state uses to distribute school aid throughout the state. It uses personal income, taxable retail sales and real property values to figure out how much each school system receives from the state. The Index has traditionally been adjusted biennially. But, because Loudoun is adding 3,200 new students this year, we should have received $34 million more dollars. Instead, with the Index being frozen, our allocation would be frozen.
Loudoun always provides more money to the state than it gets back in school funds. But, we have accepted the redistribution of resources needed to help poorer counties throughout the state. The consistent use of the funding formula allowed our budget officers to plan and know what kind of funds we could expect. This freeze takes an objective, numbers-based system and turns it into a political preferential system.
In fact, if we received the $34 million from the state, it would cover the schools’ superintendent’s requested budget increase.
Loudoun schools are a draw for the high-technology businesses that have been relocating to our community. Their employees demand excellent schools, and Loudoun has delivered the kind of education they want. Our schools have been a driver of the economic growth in our area. That growth will help our recovery. Growing our commercial base is essential to our long-term financial health – and the schools help us do that.
The Board of Supervisors and its partners – other Northern Virginia counties, business leaders in the Chamber of Commerce and on the Economic Development Commission – have been writing letters to Governor McDonnell to encourage him to accept a budget amendment to allow the biennial adjustment to the Composite Index.
This is the toughest budget year in decades. The Board of Supervisors is walking a tightrope as it tries to balance the limited funds with the needs of both the county and the schools. Losing $34 million that we deserve is unacceptable.
You can help.
Please contact Governor McDonnell and copy your state representative. Let the Governor know that you oppose this change and ask for a budget amendment rejecting the Local Composite Index freeze. We are hopeful that the Governor will view this as bad public policy. His contact information:
Governor Bob McDonnell
Office of the Governor
Patrick Henry Building, 3rd Floor
1111 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
Phone: (804) 786-2211
Fax: (804) 371-6351
E-mail through an online form: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/TheAdministration/contactGovernor.cfm
Thank you for your assistance. During these tight economic times, it is important to work together to demonstrate to our state legislators that the community is speaking with one voice on this funding issue.
All the best,
Susan Buckley
Supervisor, Sugarland Run District
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors
Kelly Burk
Supervisor, Leesburg District
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors
Jim Burton
Supervisor, Blue Ridge District
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors
Sally R. Kurtz
Supervisor, Catoctin District
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors
Scott York
Chairman At Large
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors
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