The state of Virginia is heading for a shortfall of between $200 million and $300 million in budgeted revenues this fiscal year. With only a month and a half in the year left to go, the Kaine administration will have to move quickly to decide where to pare spending.
Del. Vincent F. Callahan Jr., R-Fairfax, suggested that the administration could cover the shortfall by postponing some $1 billion worth of capital projects in the budget, according to Michael Hardy with the Times-Dispatch.
With the prospect that this year’s shortfall could spill into next year, Del. S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, sounded an alarm about the Governor’s proposal to implement universal preschool, a program that could cost $300 million a year when fully implemented. Said Jones: “I hope [Kaine] will take the pre-kindergarten program off the table.”