WJCC proposes nearly $13.9 million local increase for FY26, prioritizes teacher pay and mandated EL/special‑ed staffing

At a joint meeting of the Williamsburg City Council and the James City County Board of Supervisors, district leaders presented the superintendent’s proposed fiscal year 2026 operating budget, outlining new staffing requests, compensation changes and assumptions about state and federal funding.

Renee Ewing introduced the proposal, saying it is based on Governor Youngkin’s amendments to the 2024–26 state budget and the General Assembly’s pending figures. Ewing and Doctor Keever (district leadership) said the superintendent’s request to local funding partners is nearly $13,900,000 above last year’s budget; they also said the full “needs” list would total about $21,000,000 above last year but that administrators had trimmed the request for the initial proposal.

The budget presentation emphasized that people are the bulk of the cost: about 87% of the operating budget is compensation and benefits. Key components of the proposal include a 3% salary increase for all staff, a 70/30 employer/employee split on an estimated 15% increase in health‑care costs, and $2.5 million to begin implementing recommendations from a Bolton compensation study. Ewing said the district recommends a multiyear implementation and included a year‑one package of roughly $1.9 million targeted to raise the beginning teacher salary (Bolton’s recommended new starting bachelor’s salary cited as $55,003.11)…