Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Literacy And Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves updated literacy interventions, $126.2M in Literary Fund loans and new interest schedule
Summary
The Board approved updated K–5 supplemental/intervention curricula to comply with the Virginia Literacy Act, released recommendations to approve $126.2 million in Literary Fund loans for nine projects, and adopted a market‑indexed interest‑rate schedule with discounts tied to school‑division composite indices.
The Virginia Board of Education approved several finance and curriculum actions intended to support literacy and school capital needs.
On curriculum, the board approved a list of supplemental and intervention instructional programs for K–5 that meet the Virginia Literacy Act review standards; staff said the process is ongoing with additional cycles and teacher supports planned. Board members asked about cycle timing and teacher training to ensure materials align to diagnostic screening reports and intervention targeting.
On finance, VDOE staff presented a first‑and‑final review recommending release of $126,200,000 in Literary Fund loans for nine school projects across four school divisions that have met application requirements. The board waived first review and approved the loan releases by roll‑call vote.
The board also approved a revised Literary Fund interest‑rate schedule — developed with the Department of the Treasury — that benchmarks rates to a market index (example cited: 3.25%) and applies a tiered discount by a division’s composite index so lower‑resource divisions receive larger reductions. Staff emphasized a mechanism that selects the lower of the discounted market rate or default regulatory rates (2%–6%) and illustrated sample discounts (up to 0.8 percentage points for lowest tiers). The board voted to waive first review and incorporate the schedule into the Literary Fund guidelines for the 2024–2026 biennium.
Members publicly thanked Kent, the department finance official retiring after decades of service; staff introduced Christina Burda as his incoming successor.
The approvals aim to pair instructional supports with capital financing mechanics so divisions can implement literacy interventions while accessing loans at rates that reflect local resource levels.
