Collegiate Times

Ruff said the prospect of legal ramifications could also cause the tax to be removed from the budget.

“I think it puts us on very thin ice. Those fees were paid with one purpose, and I would not at all be surprised if the families or students that paid those fees felt like they had a case in court,” Ruff said.

Multiple legislators told Carroll and other student representatives lobbying against the tax that they hoped it was removed.

Sen. Mark Obenshain, a Republican from the 26th district, said he would be “shocked” if the committees working on each house’s respective budget proposals left the tax in the plan.

Sen. John Edwards, a Democrat who represents part of Montgomery County, as well as Sen. Creigh Deeds and Del. Robert Orrock, said it was unlikely the measure would remain in the final budget.

Orrock, a high school teacher by trade, said he took action when he feared a similar tax could be imposed in his school district.

As the sponsor of his school’s FFA chapter, he had put significant surplus funds into a rainy-day fund. As the economy worsened, he decided to buy the group a tractor with the money instead of holding it, fearing the local school district may pull from rainy-day funds built by club fundraising.

The efforts of Virginia21 and the student leaders found no opposition in the General Assembly.

“It was interesting; a lot of them were saying, ‘You’re kind of talking to an ally here,’ or they definitely agreed with me,” Carroll said.

Smolkin said it is a matter of how motivated the legislators are to act on their convictions.

“Of course in going into the meetings, your expectation is that no senator or delegate is going to tell you they are opposed to funding,” Smolkin said.

Del. Timothy Hugo, a Republican from the 40th District, said in a meeting with Carroll that he did not know about the tax.

He said he would ask the appropriations committee to remove the tax. Hugo admitted that the inclusion of the tax, a small portion of the budget, would not cause him to vote against a proposal.

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A version of this article appeared in the Feb 19 issue of the Collegiate Times.