How are the Republicans on this Board Going to Defend This?

[Counts]

Here are some links that deal with this

Virginia Politics Blog - Fairfax: Lawsuit over school funding is 'last resort'

Fairfax: Lawsuit over school funding is 'last resort'


Fairfax County officials, still fuming over a proposed freeze of roughly $61 million in state education funding, said they are pursuing a legislative fix but called a potential lawsuit "a last resort."
Supervisor Jeff C. McKay (D-Lee), speaking at a Tuesday meeting of the county's Economic Advisory Commission, said officials and lobbyists are working with their House and Senate counterparts in Richmond to find a way to reinstate the money, which is distributed in a complex formula so that poor school districts get more state funding and wealthy districts get less.
"If we don't get what we need out of a legislative fix, a lawsuit is a very last resort," McKay said.
At several points during the meeting, supervisors reiterated the phrase, "It's our money," highlighting the tone of much of the debate over the school funding formula. Officials have argued that money would go a long way to help Fairfax close an expected $315.6 million budget shortfall next year and that the freeze is an insult to Northern Virginia localities that have participated in the formula for years.
But Vice Chairman Penelope A. "Penny" Gross (D-Mason) emphasized the cost of litigation and the potential for a years-long battle for the money are significant factors in deciding whether to go the lawsuit route.
"A lawsuit is a considerable cost and I know the schools would like it if we didn't have to spend that money," Gross said, nodding to a smiling Fairfax Superintendent Jack D. Dale sitting nearby.
Former Virginia governor Timothy M. Kaine (D) proposed a one-year freeze of the LCI (local composite index) formula, in an effort to save $30 million statewide and ease the anticipated additional burden on about 90 school districts.
Virginia pays less than 25 percent of Fairfax's schools budget and closer to 80 percent for some other districts. Every two years, the formula is recalculated, using updated data on enrollment, income, retail sales and real estate values. This year, Northern Virginia districts stood to gain significantly more in state funding, largely because of declines in the housing market.
Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) has yet to take a firm stance on the freeze.

Anti-BVBL Virginia

School funding in the Commonwealth of Virginia is determined by the Local Composite Index, or LCI. The LCI is a result of a Supreme Court of Virginia ruling which stated that the Virginia Constitution requires all children to receive, to the extent practicable, and equivalent education. Thus, the Court ruled that some funding formula must be used to direct money to areas that can?t afford to educate children. (The Court did not say what the formula has to be only that some redistribution must occur). Consequently, the purpose of the LCI is to ensure less affluent localities are able to provide for their students. The LCI is a figure that determines how much a school system must pay for its own basic education. (?Basic Education? is a set of minimum standards. For example, math must be taught, but band does not.) The LCI, has a cap of .8000 (a locality must pay 80% of its own basic education) but has no minimum. Only 27 out of 136 schools are required to pay more than 50% of their basic education (e.g. have above a .5000 LCI).

The LCI is calculated through a complicated formula. The formula attempts to determine which school systems can afford to may more of their own basic education, and which systems cannot afford to pay. In determining who can pay, a formula has been developed which considers a bunch of different variables.

So what?s the problem? The LCI is changed yearly because conditions change. Governor Kaine placed a freeze until 2012 on recalculating LCI. Governor McDonnell is considering upholding this freeze. Northern Virginians are having a fit because it was hit harder than the rest of the state by foreclosures and a deflated housing market. They will lose millions on the old plan:
According to the Dixie Pig blog (Delegate Scott Surovell?s blog) the Northern Virginia School losses from not adjusting the formula this year are as in the millions. According to Delegate Surovell:

[1inStripes]

Dang I overlooked that one apparently. Like I said, I may have used a poor choice of words using illegal as much as you could have seen NOVA school district band together for a huge discrimination lawsuit.

Im also not exactly sure what the meaning was behind this:

UPDATE: It's been pointed out to me that the LCI freeze would have had Virginia use false economic data. That's obviously not acceptable, and it's good that Bob McDonnell put a halt to it (although that probably wasn't his main intent here).

Something I picked up on a Democratic leaning blogsight when trying to find LCI info earlier today.

Blue Virginia: McDonnell's LCI Decision Doesn't Deserve the Applause It's Getting

[pvfan]

I just wonder how many of the anti-consolidation folk voted for ole Bob? All I heard was that Bob would look out for the interests of those in this part of the state as he does in nova and the tidewater area. Granted, I didn't believe it but he got enough votes and already in his first year Wise County is going to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in already tight budget.

[1inStripes]

But from what I am reading, aren't they just losing the money they were expecting to lose before the freeze? They may not lose it at all also. The GA still has to approve it, but if it isn't approved, it could make things that much tighter on future state budgets if they lose a case with the school systems in NOVA over discrimination.

[Counts]

I just wonder how many of the anti-consolidation folk voted for ole Bob? All I heard was that Bob would look out for the interests of those in this part of the state as he does in nova and the tidewater area. Granted, I didn't believe it but he got enough votes and already in his first year Wise County is going to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in already tight budget.

I can't complain Dickenson Co gets (small) bump in funding.



That being said the fact that several of the posted storys mentions comeing up with a new formula for calculating how state money is divided up makes me worry......

[R13]

Hey, as long as taxes aren't raised, everything is fine..doesn't matter if our kids suffer greatly or not!

[pvfan]

So Kaine imposed something illegally and now McDonnell is the bad guy for righting the wrong?

Kaine realized the problems with the inequalities of the system. Had he not froze it we would have already experienced this problem. This isn't a right/left issue it's a urban/rural issue in our state. How anybody west of Roanoke could support lifting the freeze is absurd to me.

[NotSoSilentBob]

and I believe he is an extremist.

:laffingassoff::laffingassoff::laffingassoff:

And what about Timmy Kaine? Pure as the driven snow?

[Counts]

Kaine realized the problems with the inequalities of the system. Had he not froze it we would have already experienced this problem. This isn't a right/left issue it's a urban/rural issue in our state. How anybody west of Roanoke could support lifting the freeze is absurd to me.

From what I have read the freeze could not stand leagly and you are correct it is NOT a R vs D issue but it is not a urban/rural issue eather i.e. Richmond and the Hampton area BOTH lost funding after the defrost........The BIGGIST issue is how property values play into funding (The biggist reason that NOVA gained so much in funding is that there property values bottomed out after the houseing crash)

The Gov says that he wants to come up with a new formula for calculating school funding and honistly it scares me becouse traditunaly we in SWVA have benifited from the current setup while a future one may not be as good for us that being said it may work out the other way at this point there is no way of knowing

[TheBeast]

This isn't a right/left issue it's a urban/rural issue in our state. How anybody west of Roanoke could support lifting the freeze is absurd to me.

How are the Republicans on this Board Going to Defend This?
Don't blame me, I voted for Creigh Deeds!


Your the one that started the thread and wanted a right/left issue.