Youngkin Administration Error in State Calculation of Funding Negatively Impacts Virginia Public Schools

From Loudoun4All:

Error in State Calculation of Funding Negatively Impacts Virginia Public Schools

The Youngkin Administration has been posturing as a champion for schools, but this week the Virginia Department of Education acknowledged a “human error” in a mathematical formula it provides to local K-12 school divisions. This error means that Virginia public schools will receive significantly less state funding than they were led to believe – a difference of $10.4 million less funding for Loudoun County Public Schools and a difference of $201 million statewide over two fiscal years.

As pointed out by Delegate Subramanyam, the administration has known about this error for a month, but the General Assembly just learned about it yesterday.

The impact of this error cannot be overstated. School divisions rely on the state calculation tools and build their budgets with the expectation that they would receive significantly more state aid than they actually will. This error raises serious concerns for school districts in Virginia and raises questions about the competence and accountability of the Youngkin Department of Education.

Loudoun4All calls on state and local officials to work together to find a solution that will provide school districts with the funding they were expecting based on the erroneous calculations provided by the Virginia Department of Education. Further, we demand an apology for the lack of transparency behind this error and an explanation by the administration as to how this occurred.

Loudoun4All will continue to advocate in support of improving public education and resources for all students in Virginia. We cannot accept a situation where students’ needs are denied because of a preventable error made by the state’s Education Department.

I spoke out against the Youngkin Administration's "human error" that cost schools $200 million. They've known for weeks yet didn't tell us until yesterday, instead spending that time waging culture wars. Let's #fundourschools instead of book bans and attacking LGBTQ kids. pic.twitter.com/XVr5Vkt7Zs

— Delegate Suhas Subramanyam (@SuhasforVA) January 31, 2023