Watchdog
of the Taxpayer's Dollar Since 1956
Fairfax, VA		 The FAIRFAX COUNTY TAXPAYERS ALLIANCE

Mission:   Influence elected officials to end excessive spending, borrowing, and taxes.

Testimony before the Fairfax County Delegation to the Virginia General Assembly

Support Governor Kaine's $600 million cut in school funding

January 10, 2009
By Arthur G. Purves
President, Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance

Distinguished Members of the General Assembly:

Governor Kaine's proposed budget cuts school funding by six hundred million dollars.  Here are some points to consider in evaluating the Governor's plan:

  • Between 2000 and 2007 (most recent year for which data is available), total inflation-adjusted public- school spending in Virginia (local, state, and federal) increased four times faster than enrollment (34% vs. 8%).  Staff increased twice as fast as enrollment (18% vs. 8%).
  • Between 1979 and 2007, real spending increased 11 times faster than enrollment (165% vs. 15%) and staff six times faster (97% vs. 15%).
  • In dollars, since 2000 Virginia real spending on public schools increased $3 billion more than needed for inflation and enrollment growth ($3.9B vs. $.9B).  The increase since 1979 is  $9 billion ($9.9B vs. $.9B). (Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Annual Report, 1980 – 1997.)
  • We often hear that Virginia ranks 37th out of the fifty states in state spending per student.  However, Virginia also ranks 15th in local-government spending per student.  Overall, Virginia ranks 17th in the nation in per-student spending for instruction.  (Public Education Finances – 2006, U. S. Census, April 2008).

    • What have these billions produced in achievement? The National Assessment of Education Progress states that only 38 percent of Virginia 4th and 8th graders read and do math at grade level.  According to the 2008 ACT college admissions test, only 26 percent of Virginia seniors were prepared for college.  The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia reports that 20 percent of Virginia high-school graduates attending college requires remediation.   While most Virginia students score at or above the "proficient" level on state SOL tests, proficient only corresponds to passing or "D" level work.

    Where do spending increases go? We have analyzed this for Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS).  Between 2000 and 2009, FCPS spending increased $447 million more than needed for enrollment growth and inflation.  Of that, $151 million went to fringe benefits and $110 million to salaries.  School salaries increased twice as fast as private sector-salaries.  National trends show that far more state and local government employees have pensions and medical insurance than do private-sector workers.  FCPS pension and health insurance spending were increasing twice as fast as inflation and staff growth.

    Control these costs.  Do you support raising taxes so public employees can have better benefits and higher raises than taxpayers? Pensions should be capped and replaced with 401Ks, as the private sector is doing.  Medical insurance should be for catastrophic costs only, as the private sector should do.  Why pay insurance companies to pay for doctors' visits?

    Higher spending cannot significantly raise achievement in a school system that disdains phonics, facts, drill, and morality.  Pouring billions into this system drives up taxes and diverts money from transportation and the mentally ill, whose primary caregivers are now jails and prisons.

    Thank you.

    Updated January 25, 2009

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