Staunton joint meeting outlines FY26 school transfer, funding formula and capital needs

A joint work session of the Staunton City School Board and Staunton City Council on April 10 reviewed the FY26 school budget proposal and the local funding formula that determines the city's transfer to schools. City staff said the proposed budget would transfer $18,900,000 to the schools, an increase the presentation described as roughly 9.55% under the current formula.

The funding formula, the presentation said, was signed in August 2022 and bases the school contribution on audited property-tax data from the two prior fiscal years. "It takes 26.559% of the property taxes," a city presenter said, adding that over two years the formula directs 53.118% of real estate and personal property taxes into the schools' budget. The city's presenter noted the formula excludes downtown tax flows that go to the SDDA.

City staff emphasized that headline figures in the all-funds budget can overstate operating changes because capital projects in enterprise funds are double-counted in the total reported budget. "The total proposed budget...is over $164,000,000, which is a 10.4% increase," a city presenter said, then explained that about half a percentage point of that increase is related to water, sewer and stormwater capital and that some school-related amounts show twice because of interfund transfers.

Both the school board and city presenters highlighted sizable unfunded capital lists: the schools showed more than $48,000,000 of unfunded projects including a $7,500,000 request for the Shelburne Collaborative space and multi-phase work for the Shenandoah Valley Center for Advanced Learning. City staff said the city's unfunded capital total was about $134,000,000, listing needs such as new police facilities, Fire Station No. 1 renovation, streetscape projects and a century-old North River pipeline.

School staff and board members also presented non-budget items of accomplishment, including teacher awards and student performance gains in early literacy. Dr. Smith, a school official, highlighted regional recognitions and student achievement metrics that the schools expect to report publicly.

The joint session included time for questions about the mechanics of the formula, timing of audit years used in the calculation and the projected effect of assessment changes. City staff said the formula uses two-year averages of audited data (for example, FY26 contribution uses FY23 and FY24 audits) and reiterated that assessment-driven increases in 2023 are producing part of the FY26 uptick.

The meeting concluded with council and school board members acknowledging the scale of unfunded capital needs and agreeing to continue discussions as the council moves toward finalizing the city budget.