Statement on Conference Budget

The conference budget released by House and Senate budget leaders on Friday makes good progress in supporting Virginia’s students. We appreciate the Senate’s commitment over these past months to having data centers pay their fair share to fund public schools, and we are glad that both chambers have agreed to raise revenue in this budget. The budget will now be voted on by the full House and Senate and if it passes will be sent to Governor Spanberger to sign.

Thanks to the persistent advocacy of parents, educators, students, and community members, this budget continues moving the state’s K-12 funding in the right direction. However, much more work remains to make sure every Virginia student has the resources they need to succeed.

Key K-12 investments in the conference budget:

Dollar amounts are two-year totals (FY27 + FY28) unless otherwise noted.

• Special Education Add-On: The budget more than doubles the flexible add-on for students with disabilities, with an investment of $148 million, which local school systems would have flexibility in determining how to use for special education. The budget also adds $10 million for students with intensive support needs, enabling them to learn alongside their peers in public schools. Despite these increases, the state continues to provide far less than is needed to cover its share of a high-quality education for students with disabilities.
• Funding for Students in Low-Income Communities: The final agreement includes almost $29 million to boost the At-Risk Add-On for K-12 students living in the highest-poverty communities. This is far less than earlier proposals would have provided, and far less than what schools need in order to make sure that students facing economic disadvantages have meaningful access to learning.
• Teacher and Staff Compensation: The budget provides the state share of 4% salary adjustments each year (2026-2027 and 2027-2028) for teachers and other school staff. While these adjustments will help school employees keep pace with the cost of living, some staff may not receive the full 4% increase because their local government may not be able to provide their share of the costs, particularly since most have already approved their local and school budgets for the upcoming school year.
• School Funding Formula Modernization: The budget includes $1.25 million to support the Joint Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education Funding as it continues its work to modernize how Virginia funds its schools. Getting this formula right will shape school funding for years to come, and we will stay engaged to ensure the process leads to fair, lasting reforms.
• Local Option for School Construction: The budget authorizes all localities to hold voter referendums on an additional 1% local sales tax dedicated to school construction and capital needs, giving communities a new tool to address aging facilities and long-delayed building projects.
• Student Well-Being: So schools can address the needs of students as whole persons, the budget adds $17.6 million for school breakfasts, $5 million for the community schools model, and funding for the implementation of evidence-based restorative practices to resolve student conflicts.

• Revenue from Data Centers: This budget places a temporary fee on data centers’ electricity usage, generating up to $1.2 billion over the coming two years. Any amount over $600 million per year will be refunded to the data centers. This is a positive first step, but it leaves the underlying sales and use tax exemption for data centers untouched, and the new electricity tax expires on July 1, 2028. Virginia needs a permanent solution that has this rapidly growing industry pay its fair share on an ongoing basis. Doing so, combined with revenue options that make sure wealthy individuals also pay their fair share, could support stronger, sustained investments in our public schools.

This budget reflects real, hard-won progress for Virginia’s public schools, and we are grateful to the advocates, educators, and families whose voices helped shape it. But Virginia’s students, especially those in our highest-poverty communities, deserve more than incremental gains.

As the state undertakes the work of modernizing its K-12 funding formula in the year ahead, we will be at the table to ensure the process delivers real, equitable results. And as lawmakers continue to weigh how Virginia raises revenue, we will keep pressing for a tax code where profitable corporations and the wealthiest Virginians pay their fair share so that the Commonwealth can make the sustained investments our students deserve.