RICHMOND—
House and Senate leaders have a steep mountain to climb if they want to pass a state budget on time.Right now the matter of $600 million stands in between General Assembly lawmakers and an agreement.
The dispute primarily boils down to cuts in public education, with the House bill calling for an additional $500 million in cuts.
"I've told my colleagues in the Senate, dig in," said House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong, D-10th. "We don't need to be conceding when it comes to laying off teachers. It's ultimately the quality of education for our kids, and it's jobs [on the line]."
The Senate bill uses about $230 million to plug holes in funding to local school districts, resulting from changes to Virginia's 'Local Composite Index.'
Under the current formula, Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield counties would all lose money, with Richmond taking a major hit.
"You have the cuts that are going on anyway because of the economy," said Senator Edward Houck, D-17th, "and this change in the composite index is sort of just an added burden to the schools."
Houck, who serves as one of the primary budget negotiators, said the Senate version also preserves time for high school and middle school teachers to plan their curriculum.
Those elements, said Houck, make up the biggest philosophical differences in the two bills.
Delegate Kirk Cox, R-66th, a Chesterfield teacher and senior House member, told CBS 6 he and his fellow delegates "would love to be the good guys."
The problem, said Cox, is that the Senate Bill uses state dollars to shore up education cuts that may not be generated.
"We've learned a lesson in this recession that we've overestimated revenues now every year in the Kaine Administration," said Cox. "We're just not looking to do that again."
Instead, the Chesterfield delegate said he would like to strip away more funding now, and go back later if the revenue projections prove incorrect.
House and Senate conferees have until Saturday to strike a deal. If they're unable to reach an agreement by that time, Governor McDonnell will have to call for an extra session.
