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accurately reflect the actual costs of education, nor does it account for the funding of all State mandated programs, the costs of prevailing educational practices, the costs of technology in education, or present day capital costs—all of which results in a greater local burden for education funding.
The consortium is seeking major revisions in the educational funding formula to ensure that the State investment in education meets or exceeds the "implied 55 percent share,” and so that localities are not unduly burdened by shouldering costs that should be borne by the State.
Virginia CAREs specifies five areas of funding concern: salaries and benefits, State programmatic mandates, cost of funding prevailing costs, technology costs, and capital costs. It notes, for example, that the linear weighted average of teacher salaries used by the State in its education funding formula does not nearly reflect the actual costs of salaries—"over 77 percent of Virginia teachers," it says, "earned more money than the state's calculated average salary."
Virginia CAREs also points out that the State formula does not take into account practices that exceed SOQ requirements, but are of benefit the State's children. Practices such as smaller class sizes, school days that exceed six periods, and elementary instruction in music, art, and education are not funded by the State, they say.
Virginia CAREs is seeking broad support for its mission, and asked for a greater understanding and an endorsement of consortium objectives by Virginia organizations and individuals. Additional information on Virginia CAREs is available on the Internet at www.pwcs.edu or by calling (703) 228-2000.
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