Entering a school board work session Monday night, Spotsylvania County Public Schools officials were examining ways to continue providing all necessary services while navigating uncertainty at the federal level.
But after Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced his budget amendments the same night, SCPS is now scrambling to comprehend potential shortfalls in state funding, as well.
Youngkin amended the General Assembly’s budget to lower the support cap of state-funded local positions from 27.89 per 1,000 students to 25.5:1,000. While Youngkin’s amendment increases the support cap from the current 24:1,0000, it falls short of what the Joint Subcommittee on Elementary and Secondary Education Funding voted on this past winter and pushed through the House of Delegates and State Senate.
State legislators will reconvene April 1 to consider Youngkin’s amendments.
Spotsylvania Superintendent Clint Mitchell said he was taken aback by the amendment to the support cap, especially after reviewing Youngkin’s presentation, which touted the state’s $3.2 billion in surplus revenues, $5 billion in “rainy day reserves” and the Commonwealth’s high national rankings in business, infrastructure and education.
“If I do my numbers right for my school district, I stand to lose close to $2 million,” Mitchell said. “That is going to be my No. 1 concern.”
Mitchell said positions covered by the support cap typically include instructional aides, para educators, clerical staff and technology professionals.
He reviewed Youngkin’s presentation shortly after he and SCPS Chief Financial Officer Phillip Trayer presented a budget to the school board demonstrating a $3.1 million shortfall. The school division’s staff came to that amount after considering $11.7 million in operational funds from the county and $6.1 million from the state.
Mitchell said Youngkin’s announcement significantly lowers the expected sum from the state and brings the school division’s gap to $5.1 million. The board of supervisors will hold a public hearing April 1 on the county budget, including the establishment of the real estate tax rate. The advertised rate is 73 cents per $100 of assessed value and, at this point, cannot be raised — only lowered.
“We rely on that support cap to bridge the gap with what the local government has promised to give us so we can close the gap that exists in our school district with school funding,” Mitchell said. “If we don’t get that $2 million, I have to further find ways to cut more from the budget I presented to the board [Monday night].”
Mitchell and his staff entered Monday’s work session prepared to address the impact of the executive order signed by President Donald Trump to dismantle the Department of Education.
Trayer noted that the Charting My Path for Future Success grant was discontinued on Feb. 10. Trayer also said the division is bracing for potential cuts to Title I, II and III funding, which totals $6 million in support of 30 full-time equivalent positions.
To date, five grant positions have lost federal support, with an additional 12 expected to be impacted.
“These positions support math, reading, behavioral intervention, the English Language Learner population,” Trayer said. “No definitive decision has been made on our title programs and SCPS will look to support any staff impacted by repurposing these individuals into the [fiscal year 2026] budget via staff turnover. We will provide support for any further reductions in federal support. Of course, SCPS remains committed to ensuring no students go without the services they require.”
Trayer said SCPS is anticipating losing 15% of the federal funding that goes into its operational budget. Mitchell said public school personnel are accustomed to doing “more with less,” but added he does not want to make that a habit in the division.
School board representative Nicole Cole of the Battlefield District said that, given the uncertainty with federal funding, county residents should reach out to the board of supervisors.
“I just wanted to make the comment for our public and people who send emails that we don’t create our own revenue for the school division,” Cole said. “It is nothing that we want to ever do, to not have funds to make sure our kids are getting fed, and so please make sure that when you’re sending emails about funding for our school division, for our kids, also copy the board of supervisors.”
Mitchell said he’s hopeful that the impacts of the shuttering of the Department of Education will be limited. He said the main drawback he foresees are delays, as funds will likely be dispersed from the federal to the state and then the local level, a process known as “pass-through” funding.
“We may see things not happening as fast as we’d like them to,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell noted that the state and local government provide most of the division’s funding, but federal money does assist with special education needs and food insecurity issues. Trayer said the county is covered for the 2025-26 school year with $20 million set aside for food services.
The next step in the budget process is the board of supervisors public hearing on the real estate tax rate, on April 1 at 6 p.m. at Courtland High School. A joint work session between the school board and the supervisors will be held April 8. The final tax rate and budget decisions will be made April 10 with the adoption of the county budget to take place April 10.
