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More Details on the New State Budget and Information for Advocacy

As discussed in last week’s statement, the conference budget adopted shortly before the General Assembly adjourned last Saturday includes major investments for K-12 education, including fully lifting the support cap, creating a new funding stream for special education, and providing one-time bonuses for teachers and support staff. This week, we provide more details about each of these initiatives. 

Reminder on the process – the conference budget is now headed to the governor, who has until March 24th to either sign or veto the proposal as a whole or offer specific line item vetos. While it’s entirely possible the governor will do some tinkering with the budget, it seems somewhat unlikely these particular items would be vetoed. The governor’s action on the budget, as well as all other bills that passed the legislature this session, will be considered by the General Assembly at its reconvened session on April 2nd. In short – it is important to understand that this new budget will not be final until after that “veto” session. 

Lifting the Support Cap: The “support cap” refers to a funding mechanism employed in the wake of the Great Recession whereby the number of state-funded support staff in schools was arbitrarily limited to reduce state costs. Introduced as a temporary cost-savings measure, the support cap has continued on for over 15 years, depriving local school divisions of hundreds of millions in state funding every year. The VEA and education stakeholders have been calling on lawmakers to eliminate the support cap for many years. And the General Assembly has been chipping away at lifting the cap over the last few years by increasing the ratio of funded positions, from 17.75 support positions per 1,000 students in FY22 to 20 in FY23, 21 in FY24, 24 in FY25, and now finally to the current prevailing ratio of 27.89 support positions per 1,000 students in FY26. The conference budget includes an additional $222.9 million next school year to make this final increase from 24 to 27.89 support positions to fully eliminate the outdated and harmful cap that restricted funding for vital school support staff. You can check how much additional state funding your division is projected to receive as a result of lifting the support cap in the fourth column of this table. 

Special Education Add-On: The landmark 2023 JLARC study of Virginia’s K-12 funding formula found the state was drastically underfunding our schools, perhaps most keenly in the area of special education. The study found that while per student state funding had increased for at-risk and English learner students, real state support per special education student had actually decreased over the previous decade. The amount of state funding dedicated to special education students had remained fairly constant while the population of special education students had grown, leaving localities to cover the increasing costs. Built on recommendations and policy options included in the JLARC report, two omnibus bills this General Assembly session included a new state-funded add-on for each special education student based on the level of services the student is receiving (level I or II). While those bills ultimately failed, the conference budget did provide a new $52.8 million investment to supplement existing staffing standards with an additional add-on to basic aid of 4.75% for special education students receiving Level I services and 5.25% for special education students receiving Level II services. This was also a recommendation of the joint subcommittee tasked with determining how to implement the recommendations of the JLARC study. This new investment will ensure better support for students with disabilities and establishes a funding mechanism that can grow in future budgets. You can check how much additional state funding your division is projected to receive as a result of the special education add-on in the fifth column of this table. 

Teacher and Staff Bonuses: The budget includes the state’s share of funding for one-time $1,000 bonuses for teachers and other SOQ-funded school staff (no later than June 1, 2025), providing much-needed recognition for their hard work. While the funds will be distributed to each division based on its number of SOQ-funded positions, the funds are not restricted to SOQ-funded employees, meaning school divisions may distribute them to any employee at any amount. The SOQ funding formula is based on minimum education standards, and many divisions employ more instructional and support staff than are funded by the SOQ. Budget language does encourage localities to use additional available funds to provide bonuses to all instructional and support staff, but school divisions are not required to distribute the funds as a $1,000 bonus to each eligible employee. Some divisions may prorate the funds, resulting in lower amounts per employee unless local funding is used to supplement them. You can check how much additional state funding your division is projected to receive as a result of the $1,000 bonus initiative in the fourth column of this table and use this guide to advocate for a fair distribution in your division. 

Making the Most of New State Investments – Your Union’s Role

Each of these new initiatives provides advocacy and organizing opportunities for local affiliates. While this new funding is not official yet, local unions could be using this time to identify and prioritize the most pressing needs in their school division. How would your members like to see any new funding used in your division? Perhaps you’d prioritize increasing salaries, reducing class sizes, or acquiring specific resources for classrooms. If you haven’t already, now would be a great time to survey your members to understand what is needed most. Better yet, survey non-members in your worksites as well. This demonstrates to not-yet-members one of the many benefits of union membership and also helps ensure your advocacy is representative of the broader needs of your division and community.

Support cap and special education add-on money adds flexible new funds: Almost every locality in the state spends more than its required local match of education funding due to the state’s chronic underfunding. Fully lifting the support cap would bring an influx of new state dollars to every division, which in many cases would free up existing local dollars the division is already spending, likewise, with the new special education add-on funding in many divisions. For other divisions, this funding will present an opportunity to hire more teachers, aides, or resources they may currently be doing without. No matter the situation in your division, once your local has identified its priorities, encourage your members to email, call, and/or request meetings with your superintendents and school board members to discuss how the new funds can be used to benefit staff and students and encourage school leadership to provide transparency around the allocation process, ensuring that any new funding is used effectively to support educational priorities. 

Your voice matters in how the bonus is disbursed: Advocacy around the bonuses would be a bit more targeted, but the same idea applies. You can request that decisions on the bonus distribution be added to a formal school board meeting agenda as a specific action item. If the board declines to add it, speak during the open public comment period to ensure union voices are heard. If additional funds are available locally, members should encourage school boards to allocate local funds to ensure ALL school employees receive the full $1,000 bonus. If the division is unable to meet the full $1,000 amount this year, encourage leadership to budget for the difference in the next school year (when the additional funding from lifting the support cap kicks in) to make employees whole. See the guide to advocate for a fair distribution in your division with sample email scripts to leadership. 

Union members can play an important role in ensuring that any new state funding is used to address the most critical needs of the school division, benefiting both students and educators. The Government Relations and Research team is available to assist you and your local with research, analysis, and/or talking points.