'Human Error' Leads to $200+ Mill VA School Funding Shortfall, Rich. Board Mem. Eyes School Closures

- WTVR CBS 6 News Richmond, 'Human error' leads to $200+ million Virginia schools shortfall,' Jan. 31, 2023. - By: The Associated Press, 1.31.23.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The Virginia Department of Education is acknowledging it made a mistake in calculating state aid for K-12 schools, an error that is leaving divisions with less funding than expected. The error stemmed from a failure to reflect last year’s decision to hold localities harmless from the elimination of the state’s portion of the sales tax on groceries, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.Recent Stories from wtvr.com

It means local school divisions will receive $201 million less than expected, including $58 million less for the current school year, according to the newspaper. “It was human error on our part,” said Charles Pyle, spokesman for the Department of Education. “We regret that it was not identified until December.”

State Superintendent Jillian Balow notified superintendents by email Friday, according to the newspaper, and House Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight said he was blindsided by the news Monday. State Superintendent Jillian Balow
“I didn’t know anything about it at all until this afternoon,” Knight said. “I’m not very happy. They did not bother to tell Appropriations that the numbers had changed.”

“We need to have some open communication here,” he told the Times-Dispatch. “Now it’s on me, what do we do?”

This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip. ---

https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/virginia-education-funding-january-31-2023
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* Also: 'Richmond School Board Member Eyes School Closures to Make Up for Budget Shortfall,' WRIC,
https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/richmond-school-board-member-eyes-school-closures-to-make-up-for-budget-shortfall/