Board hears FY25‑26 budget update; staff warn of enrollment, pay and one‑time funding gaps

Fluvanna County School Board members heard a detailed update Jan. 8 on the fiscal year 2025–26 budget draft and the district’s staffing funded with pandemic‑era federal grants and state "All In" dollars. Finance and instructional staff warned that a projected drop in state revenue tied to lower enrollment, plus a 3% salary increase the governor proposes to fund, together create a sizeable budget gap unless the board identifies local revenues or reduces expenditures.

Finance staff said the governor’s proposed adjustments to the state template reduce the district’s expected state revenue relative to the General Assembly’s May numbers by roughly $250,000; a reduction of about $150,000 is attributed to governor‑school reimbursement changes. Staff also said a 3% pay increase costs the district roughly $994,000; bringing district salaries into line with the state template and the raise would leave a funding gap the board needs to close.

Superintendent’s staff reviewed a set of positions created or expanded with ESSER (pandemic) funds and more recent "All In" funding — roles many board members and staff said were important for literacy, math intervention, attendance and mental health. Presentations and board discussion included:

- Division literacy and math staffing: the district has two division literacy specialists (one focused on K–4, one on 5–12) and one math specialist for K–12; reading‑specialist and intervention roles are present at elementary and middle levels but staff said Fluvanna’s overall FTE for literacy support is lower than neighboring divisions.

- Intervention and student support positions: staff described reading specialists (K–2), math interventionists (two part‑time), instructional assistants who run small groups, and student outreach/attendance and mental‑health roles currently funded in part by one‑time monies.

- Student need data: staff reported chronic absenteeism fell from 42% (2020–21) to 27% (most recent year) and that last school year the division recorded about 200 student referrals to the mental‑health team and 65 students in a district substance‑use program; similar referral activity is ongoing this year.

Staff emphasized the difficulty of transitioning roles that were established with federal or one‑time state funding into recurring local funding. Several board members urged staff to produce costed scenarios — an "ideal" staffing model, a minimum preservation model and interim options — the board can use when talking to the county about ongoing funding. The board also asked staff to use an enrollment study (Cooperative Strategies contract referenced as "a little over $6,000") and to prepare comparison data showing what neighboring divisions staff did when expanding reading/math specialists and the short‑term impacts on measures such as SOL pass rates.

Why it matters: The district is balancing short‑term federal and state funding with recurring needs for instructional coaches, reading specialists, attendance/outreach and mental‑health staff. Losing positions funded one‑time could affect student support services, curriculum implementation and gains staff say the district has made in recent years.

What’s next: Staff will return with costed staffing scenarios, enrollment‑study results and recommended priorities; board members signaled the need to prioritize retention of roles that directly support students when drafting the FY26 budget.