The bleeding is
over. For the first time since the
recession we are seeing very modest gains for elementary and secondary
education.
In both the
House and Senate, for the first time since 2007, incentive funds are proposed
to raise teacher salaries by 2%. It is
very good news that funds are also proposed to raise the salaries for support
personnel in our schools. The underlying
good news is the recognition that funding our schools is a state/local
partnership.
While it is good
that there are funds for the state share of a 2% match for school employees,
one wonders why they got 1% less than everyone else.
We are thrilled
to see the commitment from both House and Senate to an actuarial study of the state-wide
health insurance option for local school divisions and local governments. Funds for this have been included in past
Senate budgets, but this is the first time we have seen a commitment from the
House to move forward on this important policy decision, which promises to
reduce the cost of health insurance for employees, localities, and the state.
The incentive
grant funding ($30.5 million over 5 years) for school security is a meaningful
reaction on the part of the House for the shared concerns we all have following
the Sandy Hook tragedy.
We welcome the
partial restoration, 9.65% in the Senate ($12.6 million) and 4.9% in the House
($6.1 million), of the Cost of Competing Adjustment for support personnel, and
hope that the Senate position on this issue will prevail in conference.
We regret that
both budgets divert General Fund revenue to transportation, and share the
minority view in the Senate that Virginia should participate in Medicare
expansion.
This is a broad-stroke, first-blush reaction. Anticipate detailed analysis in the near
future.
