RD527 - Annual Report to the General Assembly on the Updates to the Standards of Quality - November 15, 2015


Executive Summary:
In accordance with Chapter 665, 2015 Acts of Assembly, the Department of Planning and Budget (DPB), in coordination with the Department of Education (DOE), has prepared the annual report on the update to the Standards of Quality (SOQ) based upon the most current data available. This report includes technical updates to the SOQ accounts that are calculated on an annual basis as well as biennial updates associated with the rebenchmarking process. Enrollment updates are not included in this report because the data submitted by school divisions are still being verified by DOE at the time of this publication. This report also does not include revisions to the sales tax revenues dedicated to public education or the lottery. These revenue estimates will not be available until after the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates (GACRE) meets on November 30, 2015.

Specifically, this report contains the following updates and projected state costs for the Standards of Quality in the 2016-2018 biennium:

• Updates for the SOQ rebenchmarking process, as received by the Board of Education at its September 10, 2015, meeting;

• Update of the Composite Index of Local Ability-to-Pay for the 2016-2018 biennium; and

• Update of fringe benefits contribution rates for funded positions in the SOQ model based on Virginia Retirement System (VRS) board-certified rates.