<bt>Education is our most important function in government. Virginia provides more aid to education than for any other government purpose. In Fairfax County, we have high quality schools that receive national accolades; however, Fairfax County receives one of the lowest levels of education funding in the state — approximately 25 percent of basic education costs as estimated by the state, but in reality only about 17 percent of Fairfax County's actual cost. In 2001, my opponent pledged to go to Richmond and bring more education dollars back to Fairfax. He failed! In fact, rather than increasing Fairfax County's share of school funding, he voted for the budget that cut $46.6 million in aid to Fairfax County, more than 10 percent of its state funding for education, while other regions of the state received funding increases. He sat quietly while $110 million in assistance to localities for school construction was also cut from the budget. That is unacceptable. I will work to restore our share of education funding when I return to Richmond.
In 2002, a study by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, of which I was a member, found that the state under-funds public schools by $500 million per year, placing an unfair burden on local taxpayers and the real property tax. Virginia needs to meet its commitment to fund its full share of the Standards of Quality costs. By the same token, this increase in basic aid to education should not be at the expense of Northern Virginia. The losses to Fairfax County and other Northern Virginia jurisdictions in the last session of the General Assembly must be restored as a condition of any increase in basic aid to education.
Virginia also needs to provide support for school construction needs. Estimates of school construction needs in Virginia range from $5 billion to $8 billion. It is a major problem for Virginia localities. Fairfax County has more than $1.952 billion in projected school construction needs in the next five years. The City of Fairfax is looking to major renovations of Fairfax High School and Lanier Middle School. We need to build and renovate schools so our children and our teachers have the learning and employment environments they deserve.
In 1998, I wrote and passed the Financial Assistance for Public School Facilities initiative, the first state direct support for local school construction projects. Unfortunately, my opponent voted to eliminate this program in the 2002 budget. Two years ago, Del. Dave Albo (R-42nd) and I proposed using public-private partnerships to address the critical school construction needs. That innovative approach is building the South County High School now. I will continue to apply my energies and expertise to seek creative approaches for school construction to reduce overcrowding, eliminate trailers, and assure that major projects like Woodson High School's renovation are started without further delay.
In the final analysis, education is more than money alone. Fairfax County has dealt well with both the kids at the top academic echelon and those with special needs. We need now to focus more attention on the regular kid. We need to encourage our educators to raise their expectations for higher student performance and we need to assist parents in identifying classes for their children that meet the requirements for success in today's workplace.
In 2001, my opponent pledged to go to Richmond and bring more education dollars back to Fairfax. All he accomplished was the loss of 10 percent of our education dollars. He boasts of Putting Fairfax First, but in only two years he has made Fairfax schools financially worse. Fairfax children, parents and educators deserve a delegate who is more than a slogan. They deserve a delegate with a record of making Fairfax first.