Radford City Schools urges council to fund buy-ins as state share rises

Radford City Schools Superintendent Dr. Joyce told Radford City Council on the evening of the budget hearing that a lower Local Composite Index (LCI) has reduced the share the city is expected to pay for K-12 education and that the division is seeking local "buy-ins" to secure additional state funds.

Dr. Joyce said Radford's LCI is 0.1658 for the 2025-26 budgeting cycle, down from 0.2395 in the 2022-24 biennium, "which means the city of Radford is able to pay for about 16% of K-12 education in the city of Radford versus 84% would come from the state." She told the council the state calculates LCI using true value of real estate, adjusted gross income and taxable retail sales and that Radford's LCI is among the lowest in the Commonwealth.

The superintendent explained the division is building its budget on a conservative projected average daily membership (ADM) of 3,010 students while the state projects 3,089. She said the division's operating request included a local funds ask of about $5.8 million (the school's original local funding request) and that, separately, the division would need roughly $1,300,000 in local "buy-in" funds to participate in state-funded supplements and programs that require local match.

Why it matters: those buy-ins, Dr. Joyce said, cover items such as the at-risk add-on (lottery-funded split programs), K-3 primary class-size reduction, preschool slots, and a compensation supplement tied to Standards of Quality (SOQ) positions. She gave one example: the state's proposed 3% pay increase for SOQ positions would require a local contribution of about $281,000 to unlock roughly $1.4 million in state funds for those positions.

Council members and the superintendent discussed how local required effort (LRE) differs from the local required match for buy-ins. Council member questions made clear that the LRE figure (discussed as the $5.3 million figure in the presentation) is the baseline required by law; buy-ins are above and beyond that and are not automatically covered by revenue the division generates from tuition or other local receipts. Dr. Joyce said funds such as tuition and facility-use fees are not allowed by law to be applied toward the locality's required contribution.

Several public commenters urged the council to protect school funding. Lauren Kwasimir, who identified herself as a Radford resident and parent, said, "If the tax increase included in this year's budget does not fully fund our schools, then I am of the opinion that you must increase it or find other areas to cut. Our children deserve better." Teacher Jessica McMurray asked the council to preserve programs that sustain current student outcomes: "It's not about the 3% raise. It's about the students for the majority of us." School board member Gloria Boyd emphasized that reductions to class-size or at-risk services would reverse gains for vulnerable students.

The superintendent and council exchanged options for the shortfall: the school board had offered $500,000 from a capital reserve account that the city holds on the schools' behalf, and council members said staff would run numbers to see whether that reserve, year-end carryover, or modest tax adjustments could cover buy-ins this year. Mayor Horton and City staff warned that even if this year's gaps are closed, the city still faces multi-year structural challenges and that a one-time fix would not necessarily resolve longer-term needs.

Next steps: the council opened and then closed the public hearing on the fiscal 2025-26 budget. Council members said they will consider adjustments at the second reading and during the week ahead, with staff "crunching numbers" on how reserves, cuts, or modest tax changes could help the school division meet local-match requirements.

Ending: Dr. Joyce and the school board budget committee asked the council to prioritize the local match decision so the division can finalize staffing and program commitments for the 2025-26 school year. Council members said they will continue discussions at follow-up meetings and at the advertised budget readings.