In Virginia, unlike most states where state elections coincide with the federal elections, an election is always looming. I have been directly involved in the workings of state government since 1991, when I last worked as a teacher.
My eighteen years at the Capitol and my view of the issues facing Virginia lead me to conclude that the individual who is elected to be our next attorney general may well offer opinions that will shape the future of public education in Virginia. We must cast our vote for AG carefully and thoughtfully.
There is not broad understanding of the attorney general’s (AG’s) role in state government.
A read of Article V, Section 15 of the Constitution, where the AG’s duties are defined tells you next to nothing, “He shall perform such duties and receive such compensation as may be prescribed by law, which compensation shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected.”
AG’s often run for office in a manner that leads the public to conclude that they will be the Commonwealth’s “head cop.” In fact, the AG runs the states law firm - the Code of Virginia specifies that “The Attorney General shall be the chief executive officer of the Department of Law.” The AG has a large staff that represents the Commonwealth on a broad range of legal fronts.
For educators, however, the office is of crucial importance in that it is the AG who, upon request as defined in Section 2.2-505 of the Code of Virginia, “give[s] his advice and render[s] official advisory opinions” regarding the constitutionality of questions before the General Assembly (GA).
The opinion of the next AG may weigh heavily in the resolution of two huge Constitutional issues of great significance to the future of public education.
The state has been making school funding decisions based on budget constraints and not the needs of children. Two AGs have opined in regard to the state’s obligation to our schools since adoption of our current constitution:
February 1973 Attorney General (AG) Opinion
“in estimating the cost of implementing the Standards, the General Assembly must take into account the actual cost of education rather than developing cost estimates based on arbitrary figures bearing no reasonable relationship to the actual expense of education prevailing in the Commonwealth.”
1983 AG Opinion
“The legislative determination of cost may not be based upon arbitrary estimates with no reasonable relationship to the actual expense.”
A departure on the part of the next AG from these opinions could significantly weaken the position of those who battle for K-12 funding.
Second, our current constitution, adopted in 1971, was written as a consequence of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board decision of 1954. It took Virginia seventeen years to accept that decision.
The last time school vouchers were provided in Virginia was when the schools were closed in keeping with Massive Resistance. Vouchers were provided so that white students could attend private schools when the public schools were closed. So, the constitution does address this issue in Article VIII, Section 10 - “No appropriation of public funds shall be made to any school or institution of learning not owned or exclusively controlled by the State or some political subdivision thereof ….”
As we look to the next four years, it is certain that the issues of funding for elementary and secondary education and the diversion of public funds to private schools via tuition tax credits or vouchers will be addressed by the General Assembly and, perhaps, by the judiciary.
The stance Virginia’s next attorney general takes on these issues may prove crucial to the future of public education in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Robley Jones is Director of Government Relations for the Virginia Education Association
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