This morning,
Governor McAuliffe addressed the Joint Money Committees of the General Assembly
to provide a budget update and report on the finances of the Commonwealth. The
address spelled out a bleak financial picture and the need to significantly
lower the revenue forecast for the 2015-2016 biennium. The governor stated that
this fiscal year marks the first time that general fund revenues declined in
Virginia other than in a national recession. Typically our economy parallels or
outpaces the national economy, but we are seeing the national economy grow
while our economy suffers due to federal government spending cuts.
The overall budget shortfall is worse than expected at $2.5B over the biennium.
However, with set asides from the FY'14 budget and utilizing the "rainy
day" fund, approximately $1.55B of the shortfall is already covered. The
governor and legislators will need to identify $882M in cuts for the next
biennium- $346M in FY’15 and $536M in FY’16.
You can read the full text of the governor’s address here: https://governor.virginia.gov/news/newsarticle?articleId=5800.
VSBA will continue to update you on the budget and potential impacts to school
divisions as more information becomes available.
Thank you for your continued advocacy and support of public education.
