The Spotsylvania County School Board approved a resolution Monday night to adopt its fiscal year 2026 budget.
The overall budget is $485.8 million, including a local transfer of $170.8 million. Phillip Trayer, the chief financial officer for the school division, noted that the board of supervisors provided $11.7 million in additional operating funds compared to last year along with an additional $3.6 million for debt service.
“This is the largest year-over-year increase in support the board of supervisors has ever provided to the schools,” Trayer said.
While Trayer said negotiations with the board of supervisors were the “highlight” of the budget season, he expressed disappointment that the state budget is not yet finalized.
He said the school board needed to move forward without knowing the exact amount it will receive from the state, because personnel contracts for next school year must be completed before the end of the current one.
“Working through 4,000 contracts is an ordeal, and it takes a lot of hours, a lot of [the finance department’s] hours to get that to fruition,” Trayer said. “So, in order to get contracts out and to get them back in time before school ends, we need a decision this evening.”
State funding remains in flux after Gov. Glenn Youngkin sent more than 200 amendments to the House of Delegates for consideration on March 24. The governor’s budget amendments included a modification to the state support cap. The General Assembly seeks to increase state funding from 24 positions per 1,000 students to 27.89 positions per 1,000 students. Youngkin is proposing 25.5 positions per 1,000 students, which would result in a $3 million decrease in funding to SCPS from what the legislators put forth.
The division also based its projected state revenues on the budget Youngkin proposed in December, which includes the state’s share of a 3% cost-of-living increase.
“Unfortunately, much like last year, the state has yet to come to consensus,” Trayer said. “This means we’re not in a position to recognize any additional state funding above the amount in the original budget recommendation submitted by the governor in December. That said, we do expect to receive some additional state support.”
In balancing the budget, Trayer and his team did not include the additional $6.1 million in state funding proposed by the General Assembly, so 48 positions were temporarily frozen. Trayer’s presentation noted that the governor and state legislators seem to agree on at least an additional $3 million, and, if that comes to fruition, the 48 positions will be brought back into the FY26 budget.
“We don’t like where we’re at,” Trayer said. “Our county has done so well this year. They have done awesome for us, and the state, once again, is not able to get its act together. There aren’t many people that are holding it up, but it’s being held up.”
The budget includes a 2.5% cost-of-living increase for SCPS personnel, a step increase for teachers and paraeducators and Phase 1 of pay scale modernization to bring rates up to local market levels. The board also placed principals and assistant principals on a step increase plan for the first time in 18 years.
The board adopted the FY26 budget by a 5-0 vote. April Gillespie of the Berkeley District and Lisa Phelps of the Lee Hill District did not attend the work session. Nicole Cole of the Battlefield District was a remote participant. Superintendent Clint Mitchell didn’t attend, either.
In other business, the board voted to request that a $1 million surplus in sales tax revenue be appropriated to fund one-time maintenance projects, which include asphalt resurfacing, the purchase of boilers and other maintenance equipment. The next step is to formally request the funds from the board of supervisors at its June 13 meeting.
