Senate members and local officials urged the Finance Committee to adjust the local composite index, a formula that helps determine state share of K-12 funding, saying it misstates the ability of some small or unusually assessed localities to pay for schools.

Senator Jennifer Baird highlighted amendment 125 #17 to cap Surry County's LCI at 0.65, saying Surry's LCI is currently 0.80 because a single Dominion power plant dominates the locality's property valuation while the county's population is just about 6,500. "This is a unique situation because Surry County currently has the highest possible calculator for the LCI of 0.8, which is predominantly the result of the nuclear power facility as it relates to Surrey's low population of 6,500," Baird said.

Dr. Herbert T. Monroe III, superintendent of Surry County Public Schools, told the committee that the LCI rating understates local financial stress and reduces state aid despite very high student need. "For Surry County Public Schools, a high local composite index of 0.80 presents significant funding challenges under the Virginia current school financing system," Monroe said. He added that 94.15% of Surry students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch while Surry's LCI implies strong local ability to pay.

Senator Janet Durant described a separate but related amendment, 125 #3 S, that would exclude the value of properties exempted under disabled veteran real property tax relief from the LCI calculation. Durant said Stafford County in 2024 forgave about $23 million in taxes under that program, roughly 10% of county real estate tax revenue, and that including exempted values in the LCI understates the county's true tax base available for schools.

Committee members followed with procedural questions; no formal vote was recorded in the transcript. Speakers repeatedly characterized the issue as a statewide problem affecting multiple localities and said they had gathered data from revenue commissioners to identify other high-stress areas.

The amendments presented would change LCI calculations (one by a localized cap for Surry and another by excluding exempted property values from LCI computations) but do not themselves appropriate funding. Committee staff and sponsors indicated additional technical work and coordination with local revenue officials would be needed for implementation.

What happened next: The presentation concluded with senators asking staff to follow up and with no recorded formal action on the amendments in the transcript.