Education lobbyists eagerly awaited the promised showdown between Robert Vaughan, HAC Staff Director, and Robert Rotz, Senior Division Chief with the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC). Vaughan had claimed the numbers Rotz presented to the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday had been flawed. Rotz had costed-out the reductions in SOQ funding that would result if the House budget amendment 140 #45h becomes law.
An added subplot was a confrontation between the committee and the Department of Education (DOE). Committee members had said their numbers were wrong as well.
Rotz was "dis-invited" thirty minutes before the meeting. Apparently, DOE staff were "dis-invited" as well. They always cover HAC meetings, but were not present.
The only conclusion I can draw is that the JLARC and DOE numbers are damaging to the House's case.
What remained of the meeting was most revealing. Delegate Phillips repeatedly asked of Susan Hogge, HAC Legislative Fiscal Analyst for Education, "What will the impact of the SOQ methodology changes be on education funding in future budgets?" Chairman Putney repeatedly interrupted saying, "You can't answer that question."
Putney's tone of voice led me to believe that he was not forbidding Hogge from answering; rather, he was saying the question cannot be answered. Technically, he is right; however, one can apply the proposed methodology to this year's budget for illustrative purposes. VEA and JLARC have done that and come within four million of one another. The ballpark answer is about $350 million. Putney could have preferred that the question not be answered?
Chairman Putney, who has always been honest, then exposed the hand of the House. He said, "Public Education and Medicaid are about fifty percent of the budget and we can't control Medicaid."
We all know that Virginia has a revenue problem in this year and the out years. The House allocates an amount of money for education close to that offered by both the Governor and Senate (actually more in the first year as the House gives raises in year one and the Governor and the Senate give slightly larger raises in the second year). This is the House focus in debate, but the end game is cutting education funding in future budgets in a state that ranks 33rd in the nation in per-pupil state aid.
This end game is not being exposed by the press. This end game is contrary to pre-session polling of Virginians, who responded that public education is their highest priority. This end game transfers a larger portion of the burden for funding public education to localities, which will either raise real-estate taxes or reduce funding for our schools.