State Education Funding Formula Means Less Money for Some School Districts
Just as your school districts are trying to figure out how they're going to make ends meet next year, Governor Bob McDonnell is proposing to reinstate a state education funding formula that's been used in the Commonwealth for 40 years, but could reduce funding to some Central Virginia school districts.

Former Governor Tim Kaine proposed freezing the formula for one year before he left office, but McDonnell wants to put it back in place.

Governor Bob McDonnell's Communications Director Tucker Martin says the Governor is simply reinstating a formula to fund state educations that's been around for decades. It's called the local composite index, and it's based on property taxes, income taxes and retails sales of a locality.

"What's good about it is that it's an objective fair handed way to make a decision that could easily be very political", says Martin.

And while reinstating the formula will help Northern Virginia schools on the whole, it could hurt your kids.

Based on data from The Virginia Interfaith Center, Richmond schools could stand to lose 10.5 million, Henrico County schools could lose 1.4M, Chesterfield could lose $3.4M, and Hanover $766,000.

Michael Cassidy with The Virginia Interfaith Center says, "There are 31 localities that are going to be helped by McDonnells plan, and 97 localities that will be hurt by McDonnell's plan".

Cassidy supports an alternative plan. It's SB 705 sponsored by State Senator Mamie Locke (D) of Hampton. It included temporarily expanding the state sales tax to some services, increasing the state income tax by 3% for people who make more that $250,000 a year, and temporarily reinstating the estate tax.

But Tucker Martin says Governor McDonnell won't support the bill because he doesn't support tax increases.