Virginia students won’t be affected by the calculation tool error, schools across the state will receive enough money

RICHMOND, Virginia – Even though an error overestimated the amount of state funding school districts in Virginia can expect, the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee says there won’t be a budget crunch.

During a floor session on Wednesday afternoon, Del. Barry Knight (R-Virginia Beach) told members of the House, “There is no crisis that will affect any of Virginia’s students.”

Knight said that the changes to the budget made by the Governor and the budget proposal from the House that is due this weekend will make up for the difference.

“When we present the House Appropriations budget on Sunday, you will see that no school district will have less money than they were told at first,” Knight said.

The Virginia Department of Education recently found an error in a calculation tool, a spreadsheet on the department’s website that local school divisions use to figure out how much state money is coming their way. So, the tool overestimated the amount of money the state would give to local school districts by more than $200 million.

“We’re glad we found out about this right away. “We’re sorry we didn’t catch this sooner,” Charles Pyle, a spokesman for the Department of Education, said in an interview Wednesday morning.

He said that the online tool is being used by the department to fix the problem.

“When the House and Senate finish working on their versions of the state budget, we will have a fixed tool in place so school divisions can make accurate estimates of what they can expect from the House version of the budget and the Senate version of the budget,” Pyle said.

Democrats in the House of Delegates said that the Youngkin administration’s focus on controversial education policies has hurt important parts of the department.

Rep. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D-Henrico Co.) said, “That means no one is watching the store, which is how we get a $200 million mistake.”