Bake sales aim to find money to plug Virginia budget gap

By Jaedda Armstrong

VIRGINIA BEACH

Debra Grant worries that her grandchildren won't get the education they deserve.

Grant, 54, said if teachers are laid off because of state budget cuts, classrooms will become too crowded. And she fears that Gov. Bob McDonnell will reduce spending for the only nutritious meals many students get - the free-lunch program.

"I don't think the people in Richmond are really thinking about us," Grant said. "We put them in office, so they need to hear our voice."

On Thursday outside Little Neck Towers on Virginia Beach Boulevard, a small crowd - including Grant - shared their worries over cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies.

The goodies were baked by the Virginia Organizing Project, a Charlottesville-based grassroots organization whose members say McDonnell's state budget proposals have left a bad taste in their mouths.

The state faces a $4.2 billion shortfall overall, and without a tax increase legislators must find another $2.2 billion in cuts. To close the gap, last month McDonnell proposed $731 million in cuts to public education and $316 million to health and human services.

The "Bake Sales for the Budget" - to be held in nine cities across the state, including Richmond and Williamsburg - are a distinctive way to make Virginians aware of what these proposed cuts mean, said South Hampton Roads organizer Teresa Stanley. The effort is also a symbolic way to show state legislatures that there are responsible ways to increase revenue rather than cutting funds from schools, health services and public safety.

"Of course we can't raise $4 billion for the shortfall, but we need to shed light on a balanced approach to revenue raising where its equitable and fair," said Stanley, who lives in Virginia Beach with her husband and four children. "They need to find a way where the burden isn't on lower- and middle-income families."

Tim McCarthy, a social worker from Virginia Beach, said he'd rather pay higher taxes than see enrollment for the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security Plan, a low-cost health care option for needy children, frozen. He said the governor's proposals are "quick solutions" that will hurt for decades.

By 2:30 p.m., the bake sale was halfway over. A handful of folks bought about $40 worth of goodies.

Some people are afraid of the budget issue because it's "too complex," Stanley said. The organization plans to hold budget workshops in Norfolk later this month to help with that problem, she said.

"I can't wait to hear what the governor will learn from this," Stanley said of her group's efforts.

Jaedda Armstrong, (757) 222-5110, jaedda.armstrong@pilotonline.com