The Chesterfield County School Board is faced with a $52 million budget shortfall for the coming school year, and has responded by proposing the elimination of staffing and programs specifically targeted to help economically disadvantaged students pass state SOL tests. These targeted programs work and are essential in helping county Title I schools that serve this demographic meet the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) goals and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) benchmarks. Generally, a school may qualify as a Title I school if 40 percent or more of its students meet the United States Census definition for low income.

Virginia sheriffs say the housing crisis is making their jobs tougher, just when the state is about to cut their funding. Charles Jett, sheriff of Stafford County, said the number of evictions in Stafford almost tripled last year. Sheriff’s offices must serve eviction notices, he said. Gabe Morgan, sheriff of Newport News, said in one day last year his office served 100 eviction notices. People are being evicted not only from foreclosed homes but also from apartments when they can’t pay their rent, he said.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine this morning rolled out details of Virginia’s hard-times budget, which the Democrat proposes balancing by doubling the tax on cigarettes, from 30 cents to 60 cents per pack.

Reading the writing on the wall, Virginia’s Board of Education said yesterday that it would not ask the cash-strapped General Assembly for more money for the Standards of Quality, a guide for what constitutes a basic education.

The hole is even deeper than expected. The Senate Finance Committee of the Virginia General Assembly is projecting a budget shortfall of at least $3.2 billion for the 2008-10 biennial budget—an even bleaker projection than forecast previously.