CHANTILLY, Va. (WDVM) — A report from Virginia Excels, an education advocacy organization focused on K-12 education, claims that eliminating the state individual income tax would have a negative effect on K-12 education.

The report examines the impact of a policy proposal on local school divisions. If the proposal is accepted, it would result in a loss of $10 billion in state funding per year for public education and 43,000 educator positions.

Virginia Excels officials said that the individual income tax provided $10 billion in funding for direct aid to K-12 education and that removing this funding would eliminate resources that are important to students’ achievements.

“Ensuring a high-quality education and recovering from the effects of the pandemic require more funding for K-12 education, not less. Eliminating these critical state resources would lead to poor outcomes for our students,” a statement from Taikein Cooper, executive director of Virginia Excels, said.