Jan. 28-Richmond-Delegate Charles Poindexter gives his weekly report from Richmond, VA.

The Poindexter Report Week#3 Jan. 20 - 26, 2013 FROM: DEL. CHARLES POINDEXTER Dear Friend, The lightning-fast pace of short session continued this week as committees worked overtime to consider as many bills as possible. From early mornings to late nights, we filtered through hundreds of bills. The House Appropriations Committee, on which I serve,is in the thick of considering budget amendments and reviewing the state's financial structure. With funding tight across the board and federal spending actions still unknown, many agencies and groups are still requesting additional funding. Virginia is required by its constitution to have a balanced budget each year, so, just like a household budget, we begin with the official revenue estimate, then allocate expenditures. If we choose to increase funding in one area, we must decrease funding in another. With multiple cycles of 'up or down' allocations, the budget process is long and arduous but results in balancing across funding categories and is a much better system than the reckless borrowing and spending we see in Washington, D.C. Last week, I reported onthe governor's transportation proposal which, by the way, includes a "Lockbox" bill to assure all money for transportation is spent on transportation and not diverted for other purposes. His proposal or others submitted by legislators are now working their way through subcommittees and committees in both the House and Senate. This week, I learned about some of the projects projected to be addressed in the foreseeable future from passing the governor's proposal. These projects could include, for example, Route 701 in Henry County, the Route 122 Blackwater bridge replacement in Franklin County, and the Route 8 Mayo River bridge replacement in Patrick County. Some funding for paving high usage secondary roads is likely to result, as well. I will continue to provide updates on this topic over the course of session. The major theme for the week was K-12 education. While statewide, including the 9th District, our schools are high-ranked, we do have some failing schools in the Commonwealth. All of our schools must educate all our youth, whether college bound or career and technology oriented, to compete in the international economy. Virginia is one of at least 32 states reforming their systems for the jobs of the 21st Century.This reform is composed of many components, with the underlying foundation of the reforms based uponboosting teacher professionalism, attracting and retaining highly qualified teachers, and improving teacher training. The financial component originally included a 2% raise for instructional staff. This has garnered wide support in the House and especially in my Retirement and Compensation Subcommittee. We are looking hard at expanding the raise to non-instructional personnel, such as secretaries, bus drivers, and other support staff. I am optimistic we can find the funds for this addition. Another compensation component is significant dollars (up to 15M proposed) to establish a Strategic Compensation Grant Fund where local school divisions can provide supplemental compensation to high performing teachers in areas and tasks critical to thelocal school division's goals and needs. Components passing the House this week included the Teach For America Act, which recruits new teachers from the top 10% of new graduates; the Local School Division Charter School Approval bill, which would reduce barriers to creating Charter schools; the High School To Work Partnership bill, which would ensure all high school graduates are career or college ready; and, the Educator Fairness Act to address new teacher probation time periods and clarify the evaluation and grievance processes for teachers. The remainder of the education bills will be passing through committees and Floor by February 6, Crossover, when the House must finish its legislation. These include providing flexibility and cutting red tape for local school divisions regarding state mandates; establishing an accountability rating for each school (A-F), STEM incentives, Teacher Academies, a Teacher Cabinet to advise the governor, and other initiatives. Monday marked the annual "Visit the Capitol" day and our halls were filled with visitors from many different groups, including the Virginia Citizens Defense League, the National Rifle Association, and the Family Foundation. Visiting constituents included Dr. Angela Godwin, President of Patrick Henry Community College; Robbie Dooley from Franklin County High School; Jane and Lee Bryant from Woolwine, who briefed me on issues relating to agriculture and farming on behalf of the Virginia Farm Bureau; Jim Tobin and Debra Poinier (Piedmont Community Services), Jon Morris (STEP), the Henry County School Board, John Morris and Douglas Sharpe (Fraternal Order of Police - Henry County), and representatives from Future Farmers of America. My District office in Glade Hill is closed during session but you can contact me in Richmond at (804)698-1009 or DelCPoindexter@house.virginia.gov or by regular mail at P.O. Box 406, Richmond VA 23218.