We must address funding issues for our public schools. Public education is a cornerstone of democracy, yet Virginia seriously underfunds its public schools, as was documented by Virginia’s Joint Legislative and Audit Review Commission (JLARC). This problem is made worse by the fact that public schools are primarily funded by localities, largely through property taxes. This means low income localities have less funding available for education. School divisions in rural areas, that have a majority of students of color, or that are in high-poverty communities have fewer resources per student to invest in schools, making it harder for their students to obtain a quality education.

The passage of SB90 will establish requirements for those poorly resourced public schools to receive supplemental funding for At-Risk or Standards of Quality programs to address the current deficiencies in funding identified by JLARC.