Virginia would endow a fund to help local school districts fund classroom construction under a proposal General Assembly Republicans announced Wednesday.
GOP lawmakers did not provide a dollar amount for the account, citing a need to refine their proposals before the legislative session begins in January. A 1998 study found Virginia’s school districts faced $6.2 billion worth of unfunded construction needs, so any financial assistance would have to be significant to have an impact.
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The fund would loan money to districts, which would repay the money at a low interest.
Without the additional assistance, Republican legislators said, districts would either endanger the quality of education by not building needed classrooms and schools, or seek additional revenue from localities.
“The influx of students in Northern Virginia continues to put pressure on localities to provide adequate space to offer educational opportunities for all our children,” said Del. Thomas Rust, R-Herndon, a member of the House Education Committee.
Also on Wednesday, House Democrats unveiled proposals to improve benefits for active military personnel and veterans in Virginia. Democrats said they plan to introduce measures to allow active-duty soldiers to sign up for the state-employee life-insurance program and provide additional counseling benefits to Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans.
The Democrats’ proposal also includes paying the difference between state employees’ government salary and National Guard wages when the workers are on active duty. Private companies would be eligible for tax credits if they covered the gap between their workers’ salaries and Guard pay.
“In a time of war, when the federal government has all too often failed to provide adequate services for our veterans, Virginia must step up to this moral obligation to care for those who put themselves in harm’s way to defend us,” said Del. Brian Moran, D-Alexandria.
