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By SHARON KILPATRICK
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
How is it that the state arrives at a figure of $2,882 per pupil for school funding in computing basic state aid when Rappahannock spends $4,932?
The first answer-is that the state considers interest and principal to pay off debts from school construction to be a local responsibility. About $207 of Rappahannock’s costs for education goes to debt reduction. That still leaves a difference of $1,843.
The second answer is that not all the expenses for funding required educational programs are included in basic aid. John Rickman of the finance office at the State Department of Education in Richmond said that certain programs have their own constituencies and are funded separately.
The state estimates that it costs $29 per student in average daily membership to fund gifted education, $48 per student to fund remedial education, $312 to fund special education, and $115.50 per student to fund vocational education beyond normal vocational positions expected at a high school of Rappahannock’s size, Mr. Rickman said. But, the difference after these are subtracted is still $1,337.50.
It is also interesting to note that when the state figures that it costs Rappahannock $312 per student to fund special education, it then only sends the county 35 percent of that amount, the same percentage that the state contributes to basic aid once sales tax revenues are subtracted.
Next to basic aid the largest payment from the state is for fringe benefits for teachers and administrators. Rappahannock receives $274,053 from the state for these costs of operation - $145,959 for the retirement fund, $97,222 for Social Security, and $3,872 for group life insurance.
These amounts, while considerably less than the
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