Money

Money

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was subtracted from allocations for Rappahannock schools for next year, to produce a figure that was $202,681, or 12 percent, less than this year's allocation.

Among the localities also receiving 12 percent cuts are several with LCIs of .8000. This is the cap on composite indices, and these localities, including Falls Church, Arlington, Alexandria, Bath and Surry counties, would actually have LCIs over one if they weren’t capped, J Many people consider the LCI, -with its heavy emphasis on real es'tate values, an unfair indication of a locality’s wealth. For example, it makes no allowance for a locality’s decision to try to protect farming by taxing farmland at its “land use” value, rather than its “fair market” va'V' lue. And unless the landowner sells some of his land to pay his taxes, its •high value is of no use to him at taxpayingtime.

i Indeed the Governor’s Commis'sion for Educational Opportunity for All Virginians, which is studying ways to reduce educational disparity in die state, is going to recommend a y^different method for evaluating a lo, cantos ability to support education. • According to Virginia Hettinger, a staffuneipber of the Governor’s • Commission, if its proposed method had been used, Rappahannock’s index for the coming year would have ! been .64 rather than .6368.

Staff at the Virginia Association of Counties issued a spreadsheet 'based on these new indices for all localities that shows that Rappahannock would have been due to receive • $186,000 more for the coming year than the county is to receive this year.

However, this calculation did not take into account the cut in aid to the localities for schools that the Governor ordered. Had it done so, Rappahannock could have expected to share in the cuts, but with this lower indication of wealth, perhaps it would not have been included among the localities scheduled for 12 percent cuts.