News
By Jon Breece
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September 5, 2003
The Charlottesville City Council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night calling for the Virginia General Assembly to invest more state funding in public education.
A decade of staggered revenue-depriving tax cuts coupled with recent economic downturns have left public schools adrift in an economic quagmire, according to City Council members.
Because the state is using what local leaders consider an antiquated formula for determining a school district's need, Virginia's localities, particularly the Commonwealth's cities, are attempting to shoulder the burden to meet the educational needs of its students.
"The bottom line is that localities are subsidizing the state because the state is not meeting its obligations to fund public education," said Vice Mayor Meredith Richards, and executive board member of Virginia First Cities.
VFC is a coalition of the state's 15 oldest and most fiscally stressed cities, including Winchester, Hampton and Norfolk.
While stressing Charlottesville schools are not in dire straits, Ed Gillaspie, director of business and finance for Charlottesville Public Schools, said the schools have been shortchanged by the state.