CFO warns Restore programs rely on multiple grants; local funding needed when grants sunset

Lynchburg City Schools’ finance staff told the board the restorative academies and related services are funded through a mix of grants and local funds and that some positions and vendor services will need an operational funding plan when grant awards end. Miss Jamie, the district financial officer, summarized the primary grants supporting the Restore programs and their timelines: a school-based mental health grant (calendar-year awards running through Dec. 31, 2027 in the district’s presentation) that requires a local match of $300,000 per $1,500,000 pulled; a STOP grant running through Sept. 30, 2026; and several earlier block grants that have ended. She said some grant funds pay vendors for services used by restorative programs and that some employees are paid from grant allocations in varying distributions. Jamie told the board that when a grant sunsets, positions funded solely by the grant go away unless the district identifies operating-budget funding to absorb them: “Anytime an employee signs an agreement who is grant funded, there is language built into those contracts that should this grant end … those positions go away,” she said. Jamie and board members discussed an instance the district called an overspend tied to an influx of services within a calendar year; staff said vendor services were paused until the next grant funding tranche. Board members asked whether the district can sustain positions after grant sunsets, what local-match obligations exist and whether the district has a plan to absorb costs in the operating budget. Staff said the finance committee will perform a deeper dive and report back with options for sustaining staff and purchased services if grant funding ceases.