Compass Point
A Weekly Collection of Data, Articles and Insights from the Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute
A project of the Center for Public Policy
State & Local Education News

Education leaders discuss how to improve learning
The Daily Progress
November 7, 2016

Four local education leaders participated Monday morning in a panel discussion on the future of education in Charlottesville at the University of Virginia.

The panel, hosted by the UVa Student Council, featured Charlottesville City Schools Superintendent Rosa Atkins, Albemarle County Public Schools Superintendent Pam Moran, UVa President Teresa A. Sullivan and Piedmont Virginia Community College President Frank Friedman.


Virginia colleges told to brace for 7.5 percent cuts
Richmond Times Dispatch
November 2, 2016

Virginia’s public colleges and universities will share the pain of closing a $654 million budget shortfall in the next fiscal year.


Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s administration alerted higher education officials on Tuesday to expect a 7.5 percent reduction in their appropriations from the state general fund in the fiscal year that begins July 1, after sparing them any cuts in the first year of the budget. The state is struggling to close a projected $1.48 billion shortfall in the biennium.

National & Federal Education News

Still Haven't Made Up Your Mind? Here's What The Candidates Say About Education
NPR Ed
November 8, 2016


The candidates aren't talking much about education. But we are.

Voters are, too — education is rated as one of the top campaign issues this election cycle.

Why? Well, even though a lot of education policy is determined at a local level, the federal government still plays a huge role. Like the nearly $15 billion spent on Title I funding that goes to over half of all schools in America. Or the $30 billion in Pell Grants to help students pay for college. Or the $12 billion that goes to local districts to help students with disabilities.


Education Mattered in 2016
US News
November 8, 2016

With 2016 voting fully upon us today, the education world can now stop complaining about how education really didn't matter to the presidential race. It's finally time for education advocates to begin gearing up to complain about how it isn't really a big issue in the 2020 race for the White House.


But although it was hardly a centerpiece of this year's campaign, education did actually matter in a few key ways in the 2016 race that have implications going forward.

 


What are potential election impacts on education policy?

The big agenda items most talked about during this election cycle were how to jump start our economy with more jobs and our national security, but what about education policy? Education is the number one spending priority in most state budgets. The Education Commission of the States stated that our country spent about $100 billion more on K-12 education last year than we spent on alcohol, gambling, fast food and tobacco.

Leadership in local communities ultimately determines where funds are allocated. The Daily Courier published an article last month discussing how a person's vote has the potential to change the education arena in their local community. The election of school board members, decisions on bonds and overrides and the selection of state legislators and officials, all have significant political influence on the education system in local communities.  Funding is an important ingredient to the overall successful operation of public schools.    

On the local level in Virginia, the Department of Education publishes data every year on how much each public school system spends per student annually. The graphic below shows Highland County as the leading spender at $20,308. Surry County comes in second; spending $18,143 per pupil and Bath County is third in spending at $17,331 per pupil. The second graphic titled 2014-2015 Total Cost of Operation Regular Day School allows you to compare the amount per-pupil expenditure with the total cost of operation of the school. Northern Virginia schools like Fairfax County, Loudoun County and Prince William County have the highest annual total cost of operation for a regular school day; all at over 850 million. 




Ultimately, how we vote determines how education policy is impacted. We hope you voted yesterday! 

We also want to share in our weekly Poll Snapshot from the Commonwealth Educatino Poll on whether the Virginia public is willing to pay higher taxes to increase school funding. 

Have a great week!

Sincerely,
CEPI
CEPI Poll Snapshot - Is The Majority Willing To Pay Higher Taxes To Increase School Funding?
A short data insight from our 2015-16  Commonwealth Education Poll.
 

The Commonwealth Education Poll from this past year shows that a majority of the public not only supports increased funding but would be willing to pay part of the bill out of their own pocket. Fifty-six percent (56%) of Virginians indicate a personal willingness to pay higher taxes in order to increase school funding, while 40% say they are not willing to do so. The proportion willing to pay higher taxes for this purpose is 3% higher than last year.

Younger respondents were more willing to pay higher taxes to increase funding for schools. Those aged 18-34 (64% willing) and 35-44 (67% willing) were clearly different than those aged 45-64 (50% willing) and those 65 and older (45% willing). This difference could be driven by the greater likelihood of younger respondents being a parent with children currently in the school system, but that is unlikely to be the entire explanation as parents of public school students are only 6% more likely to be willing to pay more in taxes (60% of parents vs. 54% of everyone else).

Given the well-known divide between the two dominant parties on the question of taxes, it is unsurprising that Democrats (66%) are more likely to be willing to pay higher taxes than are Republicans (48%). Independents (43% are willing) are the least likely to be willing to pay more in taxes.

There were also significant differences in willingness to pay more in taxes based on education and household income. The proportion of those willing to pay more was higher among those with at least a college degree (64%) than for those with some college (56%) or a high school education or less (48%). This closely tracks the breakdown by household income, where respondents in households with income over $100,000 (63%) were more likely to be willing to pay more in taxes than those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 (54%) and those earning less than $50,000 (53%).

 

(To read the full poll, visit our website.)