When all is said and done, at-risk children in Virginia’s poorest school districts are the big losers. We are now fully entrenched in “opportunity by geography”. In his recent column in the Washington Post, Robert McCartney notes that through the budget cuts “Richmond stood to lose $587 per pupil (nearly 10%) while Fairfax was to gain $173 per student” under the proposed House of Delegates plan. No matter what the final numbers are, the state’s urban and rural school districts will suffer the most. Within these districts, poor children from at-risk families can be easily lost.
In addition to basic housing and food, education may be the single most important factor contributing to a person’s ability to function in our society. Our leaders keep telling us how our citizens need to do “more with less”. Well, for poor children we are in a situation where we need to do “more with far less than adequate”.
By the time you read this posting, the Virginia General Assembly will have finished its dismal task with the budget. We need to look forward to creative and aggressive advocacy strategies to defend the legal and social entitlements of the poor and disabled. In spite of the current climate of apparent insensitivity by government leadership for the most vulnerable citizens, there is hope. In its history, Virginia has also seen times of courageous leadership that transcends personal political gain for the common good. The fight for basic civil and education rights will now go right back to the neighborhoods, school districts and court houses where it often starts and ends for children at risk.
