The support cap was implemented by the General Assembly as a temporary austerity measure that unfortunately still has lingering impacts 16 years later
When folks consider public school funding, most thoughts typically center around facility improvements and teacher raises. However, there are a plethora of other unsung heroes whose daily contributions make schools work in Virginia, especially in rural communities. Whether it is the nurse who covers multiple schools or the custodian who doubles as a bus driver in the mornings and afternoons, rural schools are the pride of their communities, largely because of the support personnel who are working behind the scenes to improve our schools and assist our students.
In Southwest Virginia, like other rural communities, we have become experts at doing more with less. However, we have gone long enough without having the state funding we need to recruit and retain the aforementioned support heroes that are critical to day-to-day operations. I ask on behalf of rural schools, rural localities, and rural students that when legislators reconvene on April 2, they approve fully removing the Support Cap that was instituted during the Great Recession.
Many of us remember the Great Recession of 2008 and how it negatively impacted our personal and professional lives. Thankfully, I was not a superintendent during that time. The draconian budget adjustments that had to be made during that time are still the subject of nightmares for those who had to make budget decisions because of the crashing economy. The Support Cap was implemented by the General Assembly as a temporary austerity measure that, unfortunately, still has lingering impacts 16 years later.
Simply put, the Support Cap was an arbitrary limit placed on state funding for non-teaching support staff. There was no nexus between the reduction of positions that were funded and the actual needs of schools. The Support Cap was a quick fix for a commonwealth in crisis that, unfortunately, resulted in fewer services for students and more costs on local governments. That was understandable during one of the most difficult recessions in American history.
In a collaborative spirit, rural schools and localities made it work. That’s what rural folks do. The problem is that after the economy began to rebound, the temporary austerity measures stayed fully in place for the next 15 years.
The even bigger problem is that when budget reductions such as these are put in place, they always have more profound impacts on students who live in poverty and the localities that serve them. This is especially true of the Support Cap. More often than not, in rural and high-poverty urban divisions, local governments don’t have the capacity to replace the lost funding or the tax base to generate additional revenues.
Interestingly, the Support Cap doesn’t only affect high poverty school divisions, this is an issue that also resonates in more affluent suburban areas. Stakeholders from every corner of Virginia are negatively affected by the arbitrary Support Cap and have collaboratively supported this very important and impactful issue.
It is no wonder that when state legislators voted in February to remove the Support Cap once and for all, they were loudly applauded by their constituents back home. Based on the General Assembly-approved budget, we thought the final portion of this extended period of austerity was coming to a close. It finally felt like the help we had requested and desperately needed for almost two decades had arrived.
Recently, we have had a small glimpse of how impactful removing the Support Cap could be. In the past few years, Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly recognized this problem and started rolling back the Support Cap. Last year, with Governor Youngkin’s support, they partially lifted the cap, raising the limit from funding 21 support positions per 1,000 students to 24 per 1,000. That was greatly appreciated progress, but it still didn’t fully address the educational funding deficit that has been identified by the General Assembly’s non-partisan “advisory board,” JLARC, and doesn’t address the additional needs students have as a result of the pandemic, the fentanyl crisis, and other community issues.
This winter, lawmakers from both parties went even further — basically agreeing to eliminate the cap entirely. When the General Assembly adjourned in February, they sent the Governor a budget that included approximately $223 million intended specifically to lift the cap once and for all. No gimmicks, no smoke and mirrors: just putting resources into people who help kids every day. It is no surprise that the budget sailed through the General Assembly with overwhelming support (81–18 in the House, 27–3 in the Senate) and received glowing praise from leaders of both parties.
Suffice it to say, school and community leaders all over the commonwealth were disappointed to learn this week that the Support Cap may not be fully removed after all. I certainly understand the fiscally conservative decision to add to the Rainy-Day fund. It is wise to be prepared for the unexpected. However, the tradeoff between the impact $138 million can have on high poverty school divisions and struggling localities or adding to a historically high Rainy-Day Fund that is approaching five billion dollars (yes, that is with a B) is not the best course of action for Virginia’s current situation or for the commonwealth’s future. Providing funding for private school vouchers from this pot of money is definitely not the best way to improve educational outcomes in the commonwealth.
As I mentioned earlier, legislators were heralded in February for their strong support of public education when they overwhelmingly agreed on the budget. The ovation will be stronger and much louder when they stand by Virginia’s students on April 2 and vote to remove the Great Recession-era Support Cap once and for all. Students in rural Virginia and all corners of the commonwealth deserve nothing less.
Keith Perrigan President, Coalition of Small and Rural Schools
