RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A new report shows that Virginia state spending on K-12 public education dropped 7 percent since 2005. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission issued the report Monday. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Secretary of Education Anne Holton expressed concern following the report’s release that the drop in state funding, along with an increase in the number of students with extra needs, could hurt the state’s education system. The report notes that the number of students living in poverty increased 45 percent in the last 10 years. The number of students not proficient in English went up by 69 percent.
