RD26 - Status of Required Local Effort in Support of the Standards of Quality


Executive Summary:
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 22.1-97, Code of Virginia, the Department of Education collected data on the actual local revenue spent in support of the Standards of Quality for fiscal year 2004 through the 2003-2004 Annual School Report (ASR). These expenditures are referred to as required local effort. Information was also collected from school divisions on budgeted required local effort in support of the Standards of Quality for fiscal year 2005. This report provides the results of calculations made to ensure that each school division has expended or appropriated sufficient local revenue to support its required local effort. Fiscal year 2004 calculations are based on actual local operational expenditures and fiscal year 2005 calculations are based on budgeted local operational expenditures.

The objective of required local effort is to ensure that each school division has sufficient local operational expenditures to support its required share of the cost of the Standards of Quality.

For fiscal year 2004, all reporting school divisions met required local effort. All but one division exceeded required local effort, with local support in excess of the required amount ranging from zero percent to 261 percent statewide. The average local support in excess of the required level for fiscal year 2004 was 83.85 percent.

For fiscal year 2005, all school divisions have budgeted sufficient local revenues for operating expenditures to meet required local effort. The range of budgeted local support in excess of required local effort is from 0.11 percent to 220.81 percent.