Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 27, 1994 TAG: 9403270031
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: E-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GRUNDY LENGTH: Medium
Local funding for schools varied from $749 per pupil in Russell County to $7,789 in Falls Church, based on the 1991-92 school year, the last one for which statistics are available.
Half a dozen counties in Southwest Virginia spent less than $1,000 per pupil in local funds in 1991-92.
By comparison, six of the state's wealthiest school divisions spent more than $5,000 per pupil in local money.
The gap was slightly smaller in Buchanan County, where local expenditures were $1,582 per pupil.
The poorest school divisions say they can't provide as much local money for schools as affluent localities because they have small tax bases and can't afford it.
The state's funding formula takes taxable wealth into account, however, and provides more state money for the poorest school systems.
In 1991-92, the three localities receiving the most state money were: Bland County, $3,181 per pupil; Scott County, $2,831; and Carroll County, $2,787.
Three localities in Northern Virginia received the least: Fairfax, $669; Arlington County, $684; and Loudoun County, $736.
Although the poorest localities already receive more state money, they say it is not enough.
If the state provided more money to help pay the state-mandated quality standards for education, the localities say, they could use local money to provide more teachers, courses, instructional materials, and computers and other technology provided in affluent school divisions.
The total per-pupil expenditures for schools in 1991-92 ranged from $9,119 in Falls Church to $3,819 in South Boston. The total includes local, state and federal funds and sales tax revenues.
Arlington County and Alexandria ranked second and third in total expenditures, with $8,592 and $8,525 per pupil respectively.
Covington was tops in Western Virginia at $5,729, followed by Roanoke at $5,499.
Others were: Roanoke County, $4,955; Salem, $4,761; Radford, $4,751; Montgomery County, $4,694; Pulaski County, $4,351; Bedford County, $4,215; Botetourt County, $4,164; and Franklin County, $4,139.
State money for these localities ranged from $1,764 to $2,261 per pupil. Local funding was between $1,358 and $2,625.
In a brief filed in the lawsuit that charges the state's funding formula is unconstitutional, attorneys for the poorest school systems say they are not asking for the same amount of money to be spent on every student.
But they argue that the wide disparity is unconstitutional because it violates the Virginia Constitution's requirement for an effective school system throughout the state.
Per-pupil educational spending need not be identical in all school divisions because educational costs vary from region to region, the attorneys said in court documents.
But they said the state must compensate for the significant disparities as much as possible because education is a fundamental right.
They contend that children in the poorest localities are being denied educational opportunities comparable to those in more affluent localities.
To support their case, the poorest localities cite these facts:
The average salaries for classroom teachers are 39 percent higher in the wealthiest localities.
The 10 wealthiest school divisions have lower ratios of teachers to students than the poorest systems.
Spending for instructional materials is almost 12 times greater in rich school divisions.
The disparity in state and local funding for school systems has widened in recent years.
Any revision of the state's funding system will be determined by the General Assembly, but the legislature's changes would be subject to constitutional scrutiny to determine whether the students' right to an education is recognized and protected, the poor districts say.
by CNB