Did you ever wonder how the state figures out how it allocates its tax dollars among Virginia’s 131 school divisions?Well, it’s a somewhat complex formula based on the value of real estate, adjusted gross income and taxable retail sales in a given community, with each of those factors weighed differently. This formula is called the Local Composite Index.
Basically, the Local Composite Index is supposed to calculate what a given county can afford to pay on its own through local tax dollars, and how much the state will then kick in. Wealthier towns, counties and cities, the thinking goes, should be able to foot more of the bill on their own for their K-12 education needs.
The state then takes this figure, the LCI, and using the division’s student enrollment (Average Daily Membership or ADM), gives each school division a piece of the state’s educational funding pie, based on Virginia’s Standards of Quality, or SOQ. Yes, it’s quite a complex and confusing bunch of abbreviations, and that’s...