Please help fund our rural schools!

I am writing in support of HB1029. I believe this is a more equitable way to allocate funding. Thank you for considering this bill.

Please support HB 1029. Virginia’s smallest school divisions are currently at a disadvantage because of the 2008 cap placed on basic aid for small schools. Removing the cap would be equitable and fiscally sound according to JLARC. Small schools like Rappahannock County Public Schools can make a little go a long way. In Rappahannock County, we use every dollar available to provide important basic services ro our students. We plan increase teacher pay to keep up with inflation, but with very limited revenue sources, we are not guaranteed to be able to fund this locally without significant hardship. The funding for this bill is included in the Governor’s budget and this small expenditure would mean a great deal to the quality of education in Virginia’s smallest school divisions. We support Bath County’s ability to also tap into Basic Aid through this bill. Thank you for your time and consideration. Rachel Bynum, Rappahannock County School Board, Piedmont District

Dear Chair and Honorable Members of the Committee, I urge you to support Delegate Runion's Bill, HB 1029. I live in Rappahannock County where most of the land is taxed at an agricultural rate and our school population is below 1,000 children. As a consequence our LCI is very high and the County has the burden of funding 80% of the public School budget. HB1029 would provide substantial help to rural counties such as ours by allowing us to partner with other counties and receive sufficient Supplemental Basic Aid to provide our children with the quality education they deserve. I thank you in advance for your support of this Bill. I

This stop gap supplemental basic aid will help Bath County, but also three other small, rural districts with very unique circumstances that create a major disadvantage when applying the state funding formula. While there is much work to be done revamping the funding forumla, these districts cannot wait, especially if mandated to incorporate many of the policy changes to SOQ and programming, for additional state funding to potentially become available through a funding formula overhaul. Until then, please support this bill. It only has the potential to impact four school districts that cannot be captured by the funding formula, even with many of the revisions being proposed. Fiscal impact is extremely low. Thank you for considering moving this bill forward.

Dear Education Committee, My name is John Wesley Mills, Chairman of the Rappahannock County School Board, and I am writing to support HB1029. This bill will provide supplemental support to small, rural school districts that require assistance in order to provide an equitable educational experience to neighboring districts. The change would help our children compete on a larger stage which is presented as they take next steps into college and career. I request the Education K-12 subcommittee unanimously support HB1029. With gratitude for your service, John Wesley Mills

I urge the committee to support this bill which removes a cap placed in 2008 on proceeds of implementation of Chapters 847 of the Acts of 2007 which permits Rappahanock, Highlsnd Bath and Surry (very small districts with high LCIs, to enter into cooperative agreements. Most of the caps placed in 2008 have been removed. This one should be as well. It’s a simple action with significant financial consequences in out years. Note that the Governor ‘s proposed budget addresses this problem for Rappahannock but does not address the cap. This proposed legislation with address the problem permanently

I urge the committee to support this bill which removes a cap placed in 2008 on proceeds of implementation of Chapters 847 of the Acts of 2007 which permits Rappahanock, Highlsnd Bath and Surry (very small districts with high LCIs, to enter into cooperative agreements. Most of the caps placed in 2008 have been removed. This one should be as well. It’s a simple action with significant financial consequences in out years. Note that the Governor ‘s proposed budget addresses this problem for Rappahannock but does not address the cap. This proposed legislation with address the problem permanently