Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

The Hidden Force in the Transportation Debate: The VEA

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James A. Bacon
in

Arthur Purves, president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance, has pinpointed a key player in the transportation debate — the teachers union — that I, for one, have not appreciated, relying as I do upon Mainstream Media reporting for insight into the political dynamics of the General Assembly.

Why, Purves asks, does the state Senate (and, it could be added, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine) insist that transportation improvements not be paid for with General Fund revenues? Why the insistence that transportation not compete with other needs like education and health care? Because of the Virginia Education Association. Writes Purves in testimony before the Fairfax County Delegation to the Virginia General Assembly, January 6, 2007:

Most General Fund revenue comes from income and most of the sales tax as well as lottery and ABC profits. Traditionally fifty percent of General Fund revenues goes to education. … Historically, General Fund revenues, which increase with income, have increased much faster than transportation revenues, which are largely based on gasoline taxes that do not increase with gasoline prices.

The result is a structural imbalance in which public schools dominate the fast-growing income and sales tax revenues while transportation is stuck with stagnant gasoline tax revenues. So while funding for new transportation construction is drying up, inflation-adjusted public-school spending in Virginia has been increasing ten times faster than enrollment.

The General Assembly’s debates on transportation are a turf war in which the Virginia Education Association and its allies in the Senate try to keep transportation out of the General Fund. They do not want funding for state-mandated elementary school guidance counselors to have to compete with widening and repairing interstate highways.

This analysis makes sense to me, although I would offer one note of caution: Purves offers no hard evidence in his letter — perhaps taking the truth of it for granted — that the VEA has lobbied actively to protect the General Fund from transportation funding. I can’t tell if he’s arguing from a logical deduction or from concrete knowledge.

School funding should have to compete with transportation funding, Purves argues. “Higher taxes would only reward mismanagement.”

Update: Purves cites the legislative reports on the VEA website as proof of its opposition to the GOP transportation plan. Says the VEA:

In 2004 we gained $700 million a year with the tax restructuring. The public supported the 2004 tax restructuring because they thought the money would go for education. Now we see these funds diverted to transportation when we are not adequately paying our teachers and not funding the SOQ in keeping with the recommendations of the Board of Education.

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9 responses to “The Hidden Force in the Transportation Debate: The VEA”

  1. Larry Gross Avatar
    Larry Gross

    Some agreement here as I “hear” stuff through my wife who teaches.

    But other recipents of general revenues also… medicaid and mental health services, etc.

    But here’s the dynamic that is very, very “telling”.

    WHY would teachers and others including the GA guys … FEAR transportation competing equally for funding?

    And the answer is:

    … because the system we have – for transportation is not under control and if let loose.. it would literally “feed” on anything it could sink it’s teeth into.

    In other words – no one will say it up front – but they “know” in their hearts exactly what JLARC and APA has been saying….

    no accounting controls, no prioritization and NO real-life BUDGETTING.

    So.. people fear the potential of this beast getting into General Revenue funds.. that they work .. behind the scenes to keep this from happening.

    Kaine himself thinks this way.. that’s why he uses the phrase “sustainable transportation funding”. He want to find VDOT their own separate ricebowl and keep them out of the other ricebowls.

    ipso facto.

  2. Larry Gross Avatar
    Larry Gross

    … “build your way out of congestion”

    … there ARE folks running around that believe this is ONLY they could get their hands on “enough” funding.

    I know this comes as a HUGE SHOCK to readers of this BLOG .. but trust me.. those folks ARE all around us… STILL.

    🙂

  3. Gold_h2o Avatar
    Gold_h2o

    It’s not fair to compare the way we fund roads and schools. They are two entirely separate entities that serve society in much different ways.

    I’ll be the first to admit that the VEA and other groups have too much influence on how money is spent…..to say that the inmates are running the asylum is an understatement when it comes to school funding……anyway……

    “He wants to find VDOT their own separate rice bowl and keep them out of the other rice bowls.”

    Can you really blame him?

    Put Kaine’s idea into perspective for a moment. I think if given no other alternative the Governor would support toll roads, user fees, etc., in order to generate a sustainable revenue source for transportation.

    There is no way the same funding mechanism could work for funding schools….the idea that you could “toll” or “tax” people more because they have kids in public schools would never fly. If you don’t believe me, try getting elected on that platform.

    So, if you are going to take the user pays approach to funding roads then why not keep those revenue streams out of the general fund?

    Can you imagine what would happen if all of a sudden all of the money for tolls, user fees, etc., ended up being given to the public schools simply because it was in the General Fund?

    It’s in everyone’s best interest to keep the funding for roads and schools separate. No one wants to have to choose b/w building a bridge and buying textbooks….it’s a no win situation and every elected official knows it – that’s why you will never see it happen.

  4. Larry Gross Avatar
    Larry Gross

    re: “No one wants to have to choose b/w building a bridge and buying textbooks”

    hmmm… how bout we look at this from a personal perspective…

    “No one wants to choose between clothes for their kid and a car”.

    or “between their property taxes and their prescriptions”.

    I think… the step from separating the two – to the concept that BOTH .. MUST be “fully” funded … is tenuous.

    I’m not advocating that the two have to directly compete with General Revenues funds but I am pointing out that budgetting RIGOR … IS required and that prioritzation is a very legitimate process.

    My local county struggles with the School funding concept every year.

    How to fund the schools and how to meet the other county needs .. without raising property taxes to to the point where folks on fixed incomes are pushed out of their homes.

    BOTH VDOT .. .AND the school systems should.. just like us and just like our counties utilize the funding they have .. the best they can… because “getting more” means “taking away” from those who cannot “take” from someone else.

    Given the advocacy to “protect” education from transportation.. I wonder how folks feel about “protecting” mental health services from education?

    … or pick your poison…

    at the end of the day… no taxpayer funded activity should have a blank check….

  5. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Priorities & management skills. Larry’s points are well-taken. We need our public officials and employees to do the best (not a perfect) job of producing the best results as possible with admittedly limited resoures.

    Contrast former FCPS superintendent Daniel Domenech with current school chief Jack Dale. Mr. Domenech would regularly proclaim that it was his job to get as much money for FCPS as possible. Mr. Dale, who would certainly not turn down any additional funds, has acknowledged competing needs in the community and limits on taxpayers’ willingness and ability to pay unlimited taxes and has stated that it is his job to operate the schools as best as can be done.

    We need our elected officials to make hard decisions that, in their view, best serve the public interest based on objective standards and for public employees to continue to try to manage the resources they have to achieve the policy goals established by our public officials. In Virginia, we also need a lot more “sunshine” into the process.

    We need to strive for reform, not in an political sense, but rather, as part of a continuous improvement process.

  6. Larry Gross Avatar
    Larry Gross

    Worthwhile quote:

    “Households where I live don’t make $98,000 a year,” said Del. Clarke N. Hogan, a Republican from Halifax County, on the North Carolina border. “It’s more like [$24,000]. You add $500 or $1,000 of new taxes on top of that, and you’ve wiped out their entire disposable income.”

    and then:

    “But that disparity cuts the other way, too. The rest of Virginia relies heavily on the strength of the Washington area economy to fund its schools, highways and other priorities. Fairfax County, for example, keeps about 20 cents for every dollar in tax receipts it sends to Richmond, Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D) said.”

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/13/AR2007011301206.html

    You know.. what would be really useful for folks would be to see the figures…. for each county… in terms of revenues, expenditures and net donor info.

    Particularily with regard to roads and schools.

    How much of the cost of Halifax schools and roads is paid for by county residents and how much “assistance” do they receive from the state ( the “state” apparently being Fairfax and possibly HR).

    I think it would really help provide a deeper understanding of the issues.

    With regard to schools – my view – every child in Va – no matter where they live – but ESPECIALLY if they live in poor circumstances deserves an equitable opportunity at an adequate education – and I would include quality community colleges in that equation…

    roads in rural areas? yes.. fix the unsafe ones… but heavy-duty economic development infrastructure? tell me what they’re going to build … before we build the road.

    Given the state of the world with respect to manufacturing and assembly jobs that produce tangible things that need to be transported and exported…. I’m not sure economic development roads lead to more jobs for citizens living in rural areas… anymore.

  7. Reid Greenmun Avatar
    Reid Greenmun

    IRT:

    Can you imagine what would happen if all of a sudden all of the money for tolls, user fees, etc., ended up being given to the public schools simply because it was in the General Fund?

    Huh???

    The GA & Gov have been stealing money out of the TTF for decades! And spending it on “other stuff’ – to include the VEA lobby’s “education”.

    Folks – it has been a ONE WAY STREET, hundrends of millions of transportation dollars flowing into the General Fund – but GASP! Oh No! We can’t allow “Education money” to flow “out of the General Fund” to pay for – gasp! Transportation.

    Why, … that wouldn’t be “fair” … bla, bla, bla . . .

    Reality check – what the NEA and VEA doesn’t want to have to do is to compete with the Transportation lobbyists – GASP! The horror!

    Let me think – – now what political party does the education lobby usually give money to?

    What party would THAT be?

  8. Gold_h2o Avatar
    Gold_h2o

    “Reality check – what the NEA and VEA doesn’t want to have to do is to compete with the Transportation lobbyists – GASP! The horror!”

    Exactly…..that’s why I said, “It’s in everyone’s best interest to keep the funding for roads and schools separate. No one wants to have to choose b/w building a bridge and buying textbooks….it’s a no win situation and every elected official knows it – that’s why you will never see it happen.”

    This applies to lobbyists as well as legislators.

    Please note, I didn’t say what they were doing by raiding the TTF was right….it’s not.

    Again, if you think you can win an election by campaigning on the roads vs. schools issue…..with more going to roads then give it a try. You might win the primary but that’s about all.

  9. Larry Gross Avatar
    Larry Gross

    I think it curious that the view is that transportation needs it’s own separate revenue source ….

    … and education can graze at will on the general revenue fund.

    I’m not advocating that they compete with each other necessarily but I’m pointing out that the emphasis is more on money for education than it is for education to be spending whatever money it gets – effectively.

    The Education Community treats funding SEPARATE from performance metrics.

    and if the issue is brought up – the answer from the educational community is essentially:

    “if you want better – fork over more money – and… oh by the way – don’t try to saddle us with accountability measures”

    I resent tax dollars being not spent effectively but what really makes me go ballistic is ATTITUDE from taxpayer-paid employees of the State and localities.

    They are literally the tail wagging the dog at times.

    We have a 15-20% gap between achievement levels of well-off white kids and … blacks and economically disadvantaged and the SOLs are set up to “conveniently” allow averaging across the board.

    If it was not for NCLB – we’d not even KNOW that there is this GAP!

    So – how does the education community in Virginia respond to this?

    Well.. of course… shoot NLCB in the butt … and back off from the SOLS and stop “teaching to the test” and get back to teaching kids to be “creative” and not have them worry about achievement.

    …. Our education system IS FAILING by almost any measure when we compare ourselves to other industrialized countries – who – insist that their kids gain the knowledge necessary to COMPETE in a world economy.

    Here – we judge ourselves on how much money to we give to Education.

    and the “solution” to the problems we have is …. “more money” – rather than accountability and objective measures of effectiveness.

    And I want to point out that I am STRONGLY in favor of Education but my concern is that every penny wasted is wasted twice.

    First it deprives some child who needs instruction – then that same penny – because it has been wasted – has to be replaced with another.. that comes out of taxpayer pockets.

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