Virginia is set to receive $249 million from a $10 billion federal package for education funds, but state Del. Bob Marshall, R-Prince William, is questioning whether the state can legally accept the money.
Gov. Bob McDonnell recently submitted the state’s application
for the funding, which was approved by Congress as part of a $26 billion package for education and Medicaid dollars in August.
But Marshall, who has urged McDonnell not to accept the funds, is questioning whether the state can accept them without approval of the General Assembly.
Marshall said he has requested a formal opinion from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli on the matter.
“How does the governor guarantee that the Assembly will appropriate this amount of money?’ Marshall said.
“I think it’s absurd and stupid,” he added. “In the larger state of things, we are giving up way too much to get $250 million.”
Requests for legal opinions fall under attorney-client privilege until they’re issued, and the attorney general’s office cannot confirm or deny whether it has received a specific request, Cuccinelli spokesman Brian Gottstein wrote in an e-mail.
“I wrote the letter, so we’ll see when he answers it,” Marshall said.
Nevertheless, it’s not clear to what extent the money would help local school districts. Fairfax County Public Schools has cut about 1,400 positions since the start of the recession in 2007, but enrollment growth has minimized layoffs, according to school board member Jane Strauss.
Elsewhere in the region, Maryland is eligible for $179 million in funding and the District is eligible for $18 million.
Maryland should be ready with details soon, but first needs to notify local jurisdictions, Shaun Adamec, a spokesman for Gov. Martin O’Malley, wrote in an e-mail.
The District has not received a notification about its grant money, said a spokeswoman for the Office of the State Superintendent for Education.
