What excites you the most about budget season, and what worries you?
When I work with the budget, I see more than just numbers; I see the individual people who make our schools and departments thrive. My purpose here is to support the remarkable people working tirelessly to positively impact students' learning and shape their present and future lives. Our school division budget predominantly consists of over 85% dedicated staff across various roles, which is a source of great excitement for me.
This year, however, I harbor concerns, particularly as Albemarle County Public Schools faces a potentially significant financial setback from the state in the upcoming school year. This is a consequence of the rebenchmarking of Albemarle's share of state funding determined by Virginia's Local Composite Index (LCI) for Public School Funding. I've provided a brief explanation of the LCI at the end of this Check-in.
The LCI is intended to equitably distribute funding to school systems statewide based on each locality's ability to contribute to public education. In brief, the LCI exhibits long-recognized flaws in its application, impacting ACPS annually. An example of such flaws is the inclusion of revenue shared with Charlottesville in ACPS's calculated ability to pay. The state assumes this property tax revenue is available to Albemarle, using it to reduce our funding, resulting in both Albemarle revenue lost to the City and reduced state revenue, amounting to millions of dollars annually.
Albemarle's strong ability to pay for public education means we receive less funding from the state than most other Virginia school systems. Nevertheless, our Local Government consistently fulfills its commitment to funding us and often surpasses expectations to bridge the financial gap. Virginia assesses three revenue factors to determine our ability to pay: real estate tax revenue, state sales tax revenue, and adjusted gross income. The latter serves as a proxy for local wealth, concealed from us until the LCI is calculated, leaving us to grapple with its impact during the budget planning process.
Adding to the complexity, the LCI is benchmarked every two years based on financial data from the previous two years. Our local adjusted gross income surged significantly in 2021, resulting in a loss of state revenue for the next two years ahead of us. This circumstance applies to both Albemarle and Charlottesville, placing us fourth and third, respectively, in the highest LCI increases for the next school year.
My concern stems from the potential reductions in our funding, as any decrease directly impacts the services we can provide. While our student population doesn't experience dramatic annual growth, the needs of our students do, necessitating our attention to various factors beyond our control. We consistently address these needs, often functioning as the social safety net that no other segment of local, state, or national government can provide. If external resources are provided, they are typically partial funding and are embedded in schools, reflecting our position as the best entity to meet students' and families' needs. This requires staffing to manage and deliver non-educational services, a facet often overlooked in discussions about public schools and our cost per pupil.
Despite these challenges, I maintain hope for the budget. Our Local Government funding remains consistent and reliable. I am optimistic because our Albemarle representatives in the Virginia legislature are committed to supporting our schools and shaping the final state budget. Furthermore, our School Board staunchly supports our public schools, and together with our dedicated staff across the division, we can optimize our revenue to support students and employees.
Our commitment is to ensure that factors such as race, class, gender, and special abilities do not dictate a child's success in school. We aim to achieve this by providing excellent teaching and learning opportunities for everyone and fostering connections with families and communities to ensure every student thrives.
Our ultimate goal is to personally know each student, and this mission is embodied in the dedication and skills of our ACPS staff. The budget is a reflection of our commitment to this mission, and I will work with the ACPS School Board to strive to maintain our current resources across schools and departments to see our mission through.
Thank you for asking me this question so I can share.
Answer by Dr. Matthew Haas, Superintendent