                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

CERTAIN AGREEMENTS; ADJUSTMENT OF STATE SHARE FOR BASIC AID (§ 22.1-98.2)

A. Any school board of a school division in which fewer than 1,100 students were
included in average daily membership for the preceding school year, in a
locality that has a local composite index of .6000 or greater, and has 65
percent or more of its local taxes coming from real estate taxes, as calculated
by the Auditor of Public Accounts and reported annually to the Department, upon
entering into certain cost-savings agreements with a contiguous school division
for the consolidation or sharing of educational, administrative, or support
services, shall receive the state share for basic aid computed on the basis of
the composite index of local ability-to-pay of the contiguous school division,
calculated annually.
			The Board shall develop eligibility criteria for such cost-savings and
service-sharing agreements and for the adjustment of the state share for basic
aid, consistent with the appropriation act.
			The Governor shall approve the adjustment to the state share prior to the
disbursement of funds. The Department shall annually report to the Chairmen of
the House Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Finance and
Appropriations the cost-savings agreements made and the adjusted state shares so
approved.

B. The local school board receiving the adjusted state share shall not use the
additional funds received to supplant local funds appropriated for education.
The adjusted state share shall be used solely for educational purposes and shall
not be used to reduce local operating expenditures for public education from the
prior fiscal year. However, no school division shall be required to maintain a
per pupil expenditure for operations that exceeds the per pupil expenditure in
the prior fiscal year. The superintendent of the school division shall inform
the Superintendent of the public education purpose for which these local funds
shall be used.

C. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Commonwealth from terminating or
modifying any program or function under which distribution to a local school
board has been made, and if so terminated or modified all obligations hereunder
shall cease or be reduced in proportion with such modifications, as the case may
be.

D. Except as provided in subsection C, such contractual agreements shall remain
in effect until terminated by the relevant school divisions. If any such
contractual agreements between the relevant school divisions terminate, the
Commonwealth&#8217;s obligation under this section shall cease.

E. This agreement and adjusted state payment shall be in lieu of any existing
funds a locality receives from a Small School Division Assistance grant.

HISTORY: 2004, c. 820; 2008, cc. 589, 705; 2019, cc. 405, 406; 2022, c. 355.