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WJCC superintendent warns division faces large budget gap as local funding falls short
Summary
Acting Superintendent Daniel Keever told the school board that the division requested roughly $13.9 million more from local funding partners but initial locality proposals together provided $4.2 million, forcing potential cuts to compensation, staffing and capital projects.
Acting Superintendent Daniel Keever told the Williamsburg‑James City County School Board on April 1 that the division has submitted a large request for local investment but that initial locality responses fall well short of what the division says it needs to sustain planned academic and support staffing.
Keever said the superintendent’s proposed request asked local partners for $13,900,000 above last year’s funding level. In the last 96 hours, he said, the county proposed $2,800,000 above last year’s amount and the city proposed $1,400,000 — a combined $4,200,000 — which he called “less than half of the investment required” to attract and retain instructional staff and support student achievement.
The gap, Keever said, forces the division to re‑examine operating and capital priorities. He named several items already at risk in the capital improvement program, including work at Cooley Field, projects at Matthew Whaley Elementary School and items at Berkeley Middle School. He said the shortfall could affect implementation of year‑one recommendations from the division’s compensation study, continuation of the 70/30 split on health care renewal rates and a package of additional FTEs approved in the budget.
Keever said the local composite index for James City County and the City of Williamsburg is higher than nearby competitors, which reduces state funding and shifts a larger share of education costs to the localities. He also said that the city and county used different models for funding the division’s operating and capital budgets, complicating the school division’s planning and requiring a re‑examination of the CIP.
Keever said the division will continue discussions with the two localities, state elected officials and the school board, and will share updates publicly as the budget process continues.
Board members asked procedural and technical questions but did not vote on any new action at the meeting. Keever urged ongoing collaboration as the county and city budgets proceed through their local processes and the General Assembly completes any final state funding decisions.
Keever concluded by reiterating a request for continued dialogue with the two localities to find a path that sustains instructional staff and supports student outcomes.
