Hampton City Schools proposes $354 million FY2025–26 budget, recommends 4% pay increase and 55.7 net new positions

Superintendent David Haines presented the Hampton City Schools recommended fiscal year 2025–26 budget on March 12, 2025, proposing an all‑funds budget of about $354,000,000 and a 4% compensation increase for full‑ and part‑time employees.

The recommendation, Haines said, reflects the division’s priorities and the governor’s January budget guidance: "It is my pleasure to introduce the superintendent's recommended budget for fiscal year 25, 26," he said. The division’s chief financial officer, Brittany Branch, told the board the package emphasizes compensation, safety and instructional supports.

Branch said the division is recommending a 4% pay increase "for teachers and staff," noting the proposal would not raise employee health‑care premiums. She told the board the 4% package for the operating fund (fund 50) represents about $8,400,000 in additional investment.

The recommended all‑funds total is projected at roughly $354,000,000. The operating fund (fund 50) is projected at about $303,000,000 under the governor’s budget assumptions; Branch said state funds and sales tax constitute roughly two‑thirds of that fund, with local funds providing about 31% and federal/other revenue the remainder.

The recommendation includes a net increase of 55.7 positions to the operating fund. Branch described the largest staffing additions as 19 school security officers to support each elementary and the pre‑K school and 15 special‑education positions (teachers and instructional assistants). Other staffing moves and additions include six Academy of Hampton coaches, one dual‑language teacher to expand Langley’s immersion program to grade 4, two new stipends (a middle‑school athletics director stipend and an esports coach stipend), and a $2‑per‑hour increase for trades positions on top of the 4% raise.

Branch told the board the budget planning team also recommends moving several positions from the reimbursable projects fund (fund 60) into the operating fund (fund 50) to reflect funding sustainability and program continuity. Fund 60 is projected at $29,900,000, Branch said, a reduction from the prior year largely because federal pandemic grant dollars have ended.

Other fund highlights Branch presented: the nutrition services fund (fund 51) is projected at $17,400,000 and will continue participation in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) to provide meals at no cost to students; the athletics fund (fund 94) is projected at $1,400,000; and a new enterprise fund (fund 95) will account for sales of the HCS instructional toolkit to other divisions. Branch said total projected enrollment for March 31, 2026 (average daily membership) is 18,353.

Haines and Branch outlined next steps: the division will monitor the final state budget and the city of Hampton’s final local contribution (the superintendent’s recommendation includes $95,000,000 in local funding as a placeholder). Two public hearings were scheduled — one that evening and a second on March 19 — and the board is set to vote on the budget on March 26.

Board members thanked staff for the work and said they look forward to community input at the public hearings. No budget vote was held at the March 12 presentation; the item remains before the board for final action on March 26.

Ending: The division will update the board if state or city revenue estimates change prior to the March 26 vote.