By Carten Cordell | Virginia Statehouse News

 

ALEXANDRIA — Northern Virginia lawmakers are working to prevent Gov. Bob McDonnell from balancing the state’s budget on the backs of area school employees.

The governor has proposed $65 million in cuts to the cost of competing adjustment, or COCA — an operational factor used in the salaries of non-teacher educational employees in Northern Virginia — to balance his biennial budget.

 

The adjustments account for the high costs of living associated with working in wealthier counties, such as Arlington, Fairfax, Loudon and Prince William.

 

The cuts would affect school positions ranging from assistant superintendents to custodians and school nurses, transferring to localities the responsibility of making up the difference in the lost money.

 

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have resisted the cuts. The state Senate has amended the budget bill to replace $42 million of the $65 million McDonnell proposed. The state House also is moving to restore some of that funding, according to House Majority Leader and staunch McDonnell ally Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights. He vowed Wednesday to “fix” the cuts. 

 

The governor’s office said the cuts are needed to balance the state’s finances in a dour economy and will not affect the level of education the state provides.

 

“This does not include teachers; it is the cost of competing funding for non-instructional employees,” McDonnell spokeswoman Taylor Thornley said. 

 

“The bottom line is, in these tough economic times when money is scarce, Gov. McDonnell has made it a priority that Virginia’s budget focuses on the core functions of government — which include putting more money in K-12 classrooms.”

 

Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, Fairfax and Loudon, said even non-teaching positions were essential to improving the learning environment in the state’s schools.

 

“The fact of the matter is that it is hurting students,” she said. “There are a number of personnel who help students that aren't teachers, like counselors and classroom assistants. If you don't get that money in now, you're playing catch-up to make up for the money.”

 

While the state must grapple with a budget deficit — which could be as high as $1.5 billion, according to Senate Finance Committee documents — school employees are wary of salary cuts in an economic downturn.

 

Maurice Cabbagestalk, 50, a custodian at George Washington Middle School No. 1 in Alexandria, said a cut to his salary would be devastating. The average custodian in Alexandria earns about $42,000 annually, according to Simply Hire, a jobs web site.

 

“You can't survive in a place like this, if they cut our pay anymore," he said. "I'd probably end up at social services getting food or trying to qualify for Section 8" housing.

 

In addition to his position in Alexandria, Cabbagestalk works a full-time maintenance job for Arlington County. When Alexandria public schools cut maintenance hours to deal with their own budgetary troubles, Cabbagestalk moved from Arlington to Alexandria, which has a lower cost of living.

 

The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the General Assembly watchdog, established the COCA program in 1988 to help Northern Virginia school divisions offer competitive salaries in a regional labor market.

 

The amount of state money contributed to COCA is determined by the composite index, a grouping of financial information used to calculate a market or sector’s performance over time.

 

“Northern Virginia was hit very hard (before COCA),” said Sue Mittereder, legislative director for Fairfax County. "One of the factors the state looked at to help was to give us money in recognition of the high cost that we have to compete for employment.”

 

According to TheStreet.com, a financial news service website founded by television personality Jim Cramer and The New Republic publisher Martin Peretz, Loudon, Fairfax and Arlington are among the five richest counties in the nation, each with a median household income of more than $90,000.

 

Lawmakers in General Assembly will continue to tinker with McDonnell’s first and only biennial budget, as debate is expected to continue Thursday.