RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia state spending on K-12 public education dropped 7 percent since 2005, according to a new report issued by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.
Monday's report shows that the decreased funding comes amid fewer support services for schools that are facing increases in the number of students with extra needs, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
Recommended Videos
"There are a lot of canaries in the coal mine in this report," said Secretary of Education Anne Holton following the report's release.
The report notes that the number of students living in poverty increased 45 percent in the last 10 years. The number of students not proficient in English went up by 69 percent in that period. Meanwhile, spending for support services fell 13 percent.
The JLARC report estimated that 4,000 new teachers would need to be hired to mirror staffing levels at 2005 levels and more than 6,000 new teachers would be needed to match the levels of 2009, before the recession led to sharp state spending cuts.
The report recommends that state lawmakers provide funding for new staff to help local school divisions on teacher training and curriculum development.
Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe has indicated he will make school spending a top priority in his forthcoming proposed biennial budget.
Meg Gruber, president of the Virginia Education Association, said the reduction in state spending has created a strain on local governments, which spent $3.6 billion on education in fiscal 2014.
"Our localities can't afford to give anymore," Gruber said. "We're seeing the report verify that our school systems are under extreme stress."
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.