Leaders of Virginia’s Senate Democrats grew increasingly bellicose Wednesday in opposing the House’s plan to cut the state’s funding of teacher pay raises, promising to drag out budget negotiations if the provision isn’t killed.
Senate budget makers attacked the House plan as a “radical departure” from how the legislature traditionally funds basic education funding, dubbed Standards of Quality.
Under the House’s proposed budget, a new formula would progressively shrink the state’s share of funding for school support staff over the next two years and would expand to teacher salaries in the following two years.
“I’m prepared to stay here until December to make sure this never happens,” said Senate Majority Leader Richard “Dick” Saslaw at a Finance Committee meeting.
Currently, the General Assembly every two years factors in how much both the state and local governments pay for school staff pay raises when it determines an average salary and recalculates its contribution. Under the House’s plan, only the legislature’s salary increases would be used, which in effect would reduce pay raises.
Republicans accuse Senate Democrats of grandstanding and say the funding move would shield the commonwealth, which faces a shortfall of about $2 billion over the next three years, from having to approve pay increases above and beyond its control.
They also argue the House’s total contribution to education in the proposed budget is greater than the Senate’s, which Democrats dispute.
“If we approve a 10 percent pay raise over the biennium, we’ll reimburse at 10 percent,” said Del. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News. “But why should someone else that we have no control over require us [to pay more] — talk about an unfunded mandate.”
Neither side showed much sign of relenting Wednesday as the chambers prepared to enter a period of negotiation to create a single budget out of two contradictory spending plans.
After hearing a briefing on the education funding Wednesday morning, Sen. Janet Howell, D-Reston, said she was “ready to fight now.”
“If this were to pass, it would be the single greatest blow to public education in my 16 years down here, and it shows how hollow some words are coming from the other body,” Howell said.
