The Spotsylvania County School Board unanimously passed its fiscal year 2026 budget Monday night. The $498.8 million budget changed slightly after a public hearing late last month, most notably with the removal of five central office positions that would’ve cost $900,000.
Superintendent Clint Mitchell and his staff suggested that those funds instead be used to change instructional technology aides from 10-month employees to 12-month employees and increase their pay from $17 per hour to $25 per hour.
Jared Steuber, an ITA at Spotsylvania Middle School, expressed concern about the way the position was compensated during last month’s public hearing.
“When we left the last meeting, our focus was to make sure we looked at the ITA positions. We heard that loud and clear,” Mitchell said. “We went back, and we addressed that issue by cutting five positions in the organizational improvement portion of the budget to make that happen.”
The board also unanimously approved its Capital Improvement Plan for FY26-30. Included in the plan is a new elementary school on the U.S. Route 1 corridor, a new preschool facility, and the repurposing of the career and technology center as a middle school, among other major projects.
The board approved a CIP of $129.2 million on Nov. 11 consisting of maintenance ($75.6 million), information technology ($31.3 million) and transportation ($22.2 million). But conversations with the county administration indicated that county officials were looking to incorporate all facility needs in the CIP. So, the plan that was approved includes an additional $99 million in projects.
The next step is for the school board to present its budget and CIP to the board of supervisors on March 4.
The operating budget shortfall is expected to be $20.5 million. Mitchell said county officials proposed covering $15.5 million of the gap in preliminary discussions.
He planned to meet with county officials this week to also discuss the potential of an additional $4.8 million in state funds. Mitchell noted that if the funds are made available by the state, they will be controlled by the county.
“We are going to advocate for that money to come 100% to us, but there is no guarantee,” Mitchell said. “We will at least try for part of it … The House and the Senate have not voted to make it a reality. If we do get the money, whether it’s partial or whether it’s the entire $4.8 million or the $1.2 million on the [special education] side, the goal is to go back to the table and look at everything we did not fund on the matrix.”
School board member Carol Medawar (Courtland District) questioned why the board is not pushing for more funding from the supervisors. The total funding gap is more than $46 million, but Mitchell prefers to attack that shortfall over a two- to three-year period, saying he doesn’t want to “inflate” the budget and be perceived by the county as being “disingenuous.”
“I just worry that those instructional teams at the schools that need intensive support are going to need increased capacity to do that work,” Medawar said. “I’ve been a part of that and it’s not fun. It’s not easy and it needs attention. Our kids deserve to have someone looking at the curriculum and the lesson … I just wish we could throw a few more things in here.”
One perk for employees in FY26 is no anticipated rise in health insurance premiums. Mitchell said some people were worried that if the division provides a 3% cost of living increase, it could be negated by a rise in insurance rates.
“If it’s raised, we cover the costs, so employees don’t see a cost for next year,” Mitchell said. “It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen every year, but for FY26, we keep everybody’s rates where they are … so people can see the true increase in their paycheck. I want employees to see in the FY26 budget, their current salary, their 3% [cost of living increase], their step [increase], no health insurance increase and here’s the FY26 final salary.”
