(The Center Square) – Virginia lawmakers are weighing competing K-12 budget proposals that differ on per-pupil aid, teacher raises and special education funding, with hundreds of millions of dollars separating some of the major line items.
Under the introduced budget, per-pupil funding is listed at $9,477 in fiscal year 2027 and $9,620 in fiscal year 2028. The House Appropriations proposal lists $9,876 for FY27 and $9,683 for FY28, according to a February comparison of the budget versions. The Senate Finance proposal did not list finalized per-pupil figures in the comparison, noting that direct aid sheets were still pending.
The figures come from a February budget comparison published by The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, which reviewed differences between the introduced budget and the House and Senate money committee proposals.
The $399 difference between the introduced and House FY27 figures, applied across roughly 1.26 million public school students statewide, would equal roughly $500 million in total funding. Enrollment figures are based on recent Virginia Department of Education reporting for the 2023-24 school year.
Teacher and school staff pay represent another key divide.
The introduced budget funds the state share of a 2% raise in each year of the biennium for instructional and support staff funded under Virginia’s Standards of Quality formula. That approach totals $381.7 million over two years.
The Senate Finance version instead funds the state share of a 3% raise in each year, totaling $575.0 million over the biennium.
For context, national education data list Virginia’s average teacher salary at $66,327 for the 2023-24 school year, with an average starting salary of $48,666. A 2% raise on a $66,000 salary equals roughly $1,320 a year. A 3% raise equals about $1,980. The 1 percentage point difference equals about $660 a year on a $66,000 salary.
Special education funding shows one of the largest dollar contrasts between the chambers.
The House proposal would increase the flexible add-on percentages to 9.25% for Level I students with disabilities and 17.5% for Level II students, while allocating $150.4 million for Individualized Education Program enhancements.
The Senate version increases the flexible add-on to 5.75% for Level I and 6.25% for Level II, with $27.6 million for IEP enhancements.
That represents a difference of more than $120 million in targeted special education support over the two-year budget window.
Both versions include a $172 million transfer from the Literary Fund to the School Construction Fund. The House budget supplants $457 million in general fund dollars with Literary Fund support, compared with $235 million in the Senate version.
The House and Senate must reconcile those differences before a final budget is adopted.
