Virginia

Basic Funding Program

Virginia uses a basic foundation aid program for

disbursement of the bulk of its state school support.

It also

relies on several other categorical aid programs for support

of specific local current operating expenditures. Major categorical programs occur in the areas of special education, vocational

education, and transportation.

Smaller aid programs support

gifted and talented programs, superintendents salaries, and

expenditures in districts which have above average spending

levels.

A small amount of "save - harmless" monies are also

appropriated in the states basic aid program.

Local school districts are required to raise local revenues

in support of the foundation program, set at $687 per pupil in 1974-75. Local districts also may raise additional unequalized

local revenues above foundation program levels for regular

day school programs. They also may raise additional monies

for local support of particular categorical programs.

The state received $41.9 million in P.L. 874 funds in 1974 - 75.

The state does not count impact aid as part of its basic aid

formula.

Sources of Equalization
There are three types of equalizing school funds in Virginia.

The first is that part of the state's basic aid program which

supports local current expenditures in local school districts

that cannot raise $687 per pupil from local resources. The second type of equalizing fund is the local revenue that is applied

to the foundation program in the aforementioned districts.

Finally, Virginia-2

most state categorical aid programs pay all or a high uniform

share of selected program costs.

These categorical aids, then,

are classified as equalized in character.

Sources of Disequalization

There are also three types of disequalizing funds in the

state's school support system.

The first is "save-harmless" aid

which amounted to $13.9 million

budgeted for 1974-75.* This aid

is provided so that no district will receive less basic aid than

it did in the 1971-72 school year.

The second type of disequalizing

state aid occurs in the inventive payment program which simply pays

regular day programs above the $687 foundation level and for local

enrichment of special categorical programs.

These minies were

approximately $330 million in 1974 - 75.

Comparative Equalization Standards

Virginia does not qualify as an equalizing school support state under either the fiscal disparity or the fiscal neutrality

standard.

Expenditure disparities between the 5th and 95th

percentile districts were 67.3 percent in 1974-75. However, these disparities were increased with the addition of P.L. 874

funds to 74.4 percent.

This reflects the fact that P.L. 874

funds in Virginia flow to relatively high spending districts.

On the fiscal neutrality standard, it appears that about $332 million is raised in unequalized funds at the state and local

*$9.6 million was eventually appropriated for this purpose in 1974 - 75.

levels.

$20 million of such money is raised at the state level

and $312 million is raised at the local level.

This constitutes

over 30 percent of all state-local revenues used for current
operating programs in the state of Virginia. Therefore, the

considerable amount of local revenue raised outside the foundation

program is the major factor in Virginia not being able to qualify

under the neutrality standard.

1974-75 Virginia Expenditure Disparities

$ Difference

133.22