Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam is proposing $268.7 million in additional school spending in his two-year budget proposal to the General Assembly and an additional $36 million for school counselors.
The governor plans to partially pay for spending increases with additional revenue expected from federal tax reform that could bring in another $600 million, as well as $21 million from a proposed internet sales tax.
The state will see an influx of this $600 million because of the federal government doubling the standard deduction in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Although that act was designed to decrease the tax burden across the country, a Virginia law requires citizens have the same deduction status for state and federal taxes. Because the standard deduction for Virginia is $6,000, fewer Virginians will itemize, causing them to pay more in taxes. Multiple Republicans have unsuccessfully pushed for legislation to fix this structure and many critics have called it a tax hike on the middle class.
Northam, however, has supported an increase in education spending and has not sought to decrease the tax burden by adjusting the structure.
"Every child in the Commonwealth should have access to a world-class education – that can’t happen if Virginia is unable to compete with other states on attracting and retaining the best teaching talent," Northam said in a press release. "Raising teacher pay is one step to securing the quality of our K-12 education system for years to come."
The funding will include an additional two percent raise for teachers starting on July 1, 2019, totaling $88 million. This is on top of a three percent pay raise for teachers that is already scheduled for that date.
An additional $35 million would go toward the state’s At-Risk Add-On program, which will provide dropout prevention, after school programs and specialized instruction to schools with high levels of students eligible for free lunch. The proposal would also add $35 million in general aid to the Supplemental Lottery Per Pupil Allocation.
On top of that, the proposal would allocate $80 million to the Literary Fund to free up resources for school construction. The $36 million additional funds proposed later in the week would all go toward funding school counselors.
Virginia House Democrats already have expressed support for increased education spending, while the House Republicans have not made a clear statement one way or the other.
"Education is one of the most valuable investments we can make - and the one with the highest returns," Kathryn Gilley, House Democrats spokesperson told Watchdog.org.
"We ... anticipate a lot of support for Governor Northam's education budget among House Democrats and Virginians across the Commonwealth," she added.
House Republicans are generally behind additional education spending, but have not said whether they fully agree with the governor's plan.
"We appreciate the Governor's proposal and will consider it when drafting our budget amendments," Del. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, told Watchdog.org. "K-12 education has been a priority of House Republicans … [but] we have to remember this is just one piece of the broader package that we will consider as we put together our proposals."
Christian N. Braunlich, the vice president of the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, told Watchdog.org that he believes that increased spending on education is necessary. The institute is a free-market think tank based in Virginia.
"When adjusted for inflation, the state is now spending about $650 per student less than it did in 2007, so I would say [increased funding is needed]," Braunlich said. "While I don’t believe more spending necessarily equates to better outcomes, I think it is difficult to administer a school system when basic aid goes down during a recession and then stays down during a recovery."
Additionally, Braunlich said that other education reforms are necessary. This would include the government avoiding the tendency to treat teacher salaries as an across-the-board proposition. Some very rural or very urban areas have a hard time recruiting teachers, he said. He added that "these raises are largely underwritten by local taxpayers through local real estate or gross receipts taxes," which is a problem that should be fixed.