RD279 - Eligibility Criteria and Procedures for Supplemental Funding for School Divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia That Enter Into Cost-Saving or Service-Sharing Agreements


Executive Summary:
Section 22.1-98.2, Code of Virginia, provides additional state funding to school divisions serving fewer than 1,100 students in the prior school year, in a locality that has a local composite index of 0.6000 or greater, and has 65 percent or more of its local taxes coming from real estate taxes, if they enter into a cost-saving or service-sharing agreement with a contiguous school division that meets criteria established by the Board of Education. A copy of the current criteria approved by the Board of Education is attached. Section 22.1-98.2, Code of Virginia, further authorizes the Department of Education to provide the additional state funding to the qualifying school division by calculating its state Basic Aid entitlement using the lowest composite index of the contiguous school divisions involved in the agreement. The statute also requires the Governor to approve any adjusted Basic Aid payments before they are distributed to the qualifying school division and the Department of Education to report annually to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees the cost-savings agreements made and the adjusted state shares so approved.

For fiscal year 2014, Highland County Public Schools and Rappahannock County Public Schools met the criteria established in Section 22.1-98.2. Highland County submitted a cost sharing agreement made with Augusta County Public Schools and Rappahannock County submitted a cost sharing agreement made with Madison County Public Schools. Copies of both agreements provided by the school divisions, pursuant to the Board of Education's criteria and Section 22.1-98.2, are attached. The submitted agreements were reviewed by the Department of Education and found to meet the criteria established by the Board of Education.

Governor McDonnell approved Highland County's and Rappahannock County's requests for the adjusted Basic Aid payment. Consequently, Highland County received a supplemental state Basic Aid payment in fiscal year 2014 in the amount of $578,499. This payment was based on Augusta County's fiscal year 2014 composite index of 0.3627 in lieu of Highland County's composite index of 0.8000. Rappahannock County received a supplemental state Basic Aid payment in fiscal year 2014 in the amount of $309,952. This payment was based on Madison County's fiscal year 2014 composite index of 0.4486 in lieu of Rappahannock County's composite index of0.8000. Funding for these payments was included in the fiscal year 2014 appropriations for Direct Aid to Public Education.