Dear Friends, Virginians, citizens of Fairfax:

Reminder -- It's our "north of 66"  Town Hall Meeting this Saturday, January 24th, 9:30 a.m. at American Legion Post 180 in the Town of Vienna.  Delegate Mark Keam will be there with me.  Thank you to my friends at Post 180 for providing coffee and refreshments.  Our "south of 66" meeting will be Saturday, February 6th, 10:00 a.m. at Fairfax City Hall.

The legislature is the essence of adversarial competition.  Legislators debate and dispute issues before reaching a final resolution.  It's not personal.  That's how the system works.  
 
Often the battle lines are partisan.  Occasionally they are regional.  This year there is an issue uniting the Northern Virginia delegates and senators like no issue I've seen before.  
 
Call it the "LCI Freeze."  Because if you live in northern Virginia, it is chilling.  
 
The controversy began on December 18, 2009, when the outgoing Governor announced his plan to balance the state budget.  One little-noticed aspect of his plan was to "freeze" the Local Composite Index (or LCI) which measures a locality's "ability to pay" for K-12 education.  That LCI calculation determines relatively what funding a locality receives from the state for its public schools (for those interested, a more comprehensive explanation is here).   
 
Traditionally northern Virginia has lost under the LCI model.  In other words, our high real estate values mean that we receive comparatively less from Richmond.  So much so that Fairfax County (under its current .76 rating) gets only 24% of its basic education funding from the state -- or just pennies on its tax dollar.  For years, we have tried to change the formula.  And for years we have failed.  
 
But the times are changing.  
 
In the last few years, the real estate market in our area has plummeted.  This should lead to a significant alteration of the LCI for Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties.  Based upon the new economic numbers, the "tri-counties" actually stood to make a substantial gain under the formula when it was recalibrated for 2010. 
 
Gee, what a great time to break with tradition.  
 
Instead of using accurate information, the proposed freeze locks us into a real estate market that doesn't exist.  By doing so, it absolutely hammers northern Virginia on school funding.  Here are the numbers:

• Fairfax (loss of $61 million)

• Loudoun (loss of $36 million)

• Prince William (loss of $24 million)

The funds owed to these three counties are essentially diverted to the rest of the state.  In other words, the "LCI freeze" selectively targets our school systems.  Meanwhile Fairfax County is faced with growing class sizes and the loss of all-day kindergarten.  
 
Condemnation from those lawmakers who understand the issue was immediate.   See here, here, and here.  Many lawmakers (including me) have filed budget amendments to reverse this travesty.  Ironically, there was even a supportive editorial in the Roanoke Times about the need to honor the funding formula.  (Curiously, the Post has been silent).
 
On Tuesday, I spoke on the Senate floor about the patent unfairness of the "LCI freeze."   Here are my remarks.  I challenged my Senate colleagues and our new Governor -- the self-described "middle-class kid from Fairfax County" -- to reverse this extraordinary break from state policy.  
 
Speaking on allocation formulas will not make you popular in Richmond.  But the voters in the 34th Senate District didn't send me here to be popular.  They sent me here to speak for them.  And I'll do that until this mistake is corrected.
 
JCP Notes:  We hope to see you Saturday if you live in Vienna, Dunn Loring or Oakton (or cannot make the later date).  Again, our Fairfax Town Hall will be Saturday, February 6.  Stay tuned for more details.
 
You can follow our Assembly battles at my blog www.oxroadsouth.com.  Leave your comments, positive or negative.  If you're in Richmond, please come visit us at Room 323 in the General Assembly Building.  You can also contact us in Richmond with your opinion at (804) 698-7534 or www.fairfaxsenator.com.

Let us know how we can represent you better.

Sincerely,

Chap Petersen