Poquoson school leaders outline FY26 budget and regional pay study as recruitment priority

Mayor Charlie Hooks opened a joint work session of the Poquoson City Council and Poquoson City School Board on March 24, 2025, framing the meeting as a budget-focused discussion that would center on employee compensation and school–city collaboration.

The Poquoson City Public Schools leadership presented a FY26 spending plan built around a compensation proposal based on a regional market study by the M.A.G. Group; the study compares Poquoson pay scales to 17 neighboring school divisions and recommends adjustments aimed at bringing local pay closer to the regional market average. "The compensation program included in this year's budget is built around retaining and attracting highly skilled and high performing staff," Superintendent Artie Tillett said.

Why it matters: school officials said teacher quality and staffing are the most significant factors in student achievement and argued that competitive pay and clearer pay scales are needed to recruit and retain teachers during a national labor shortage. The budget proposal as presented would increase the school division's personnel costs and asks the city for additional local…