WJCC board adopts $207.7 million FY26 budget with average 3% pay increase

The Williamsburg-James City County School Board on May 20 adopted a fiscal year 2026 budget totaling $207,735,000, including an operating fund of $190,852,000 and a Child Nutrition Services Fund of $8,783,000.

The budget, moved and seconded on the record and approved by unanimous vote, builds in an average 3% salary increase for eligible employees and a series of compensation-scale adjustments. Finance staff told the board the division’s total-all-funds figure reflects revenue reductions of $4,380,500 compared with earlier estimates.

At a nut‑graf level, the budget matters because it funds pay adjustments the administration and board said are intended to respond to local labor market pressures while balancing reductions across other areas to match revenue from the city, county and state.

Ms. Ewing, a finance staff member who presented the plan, summarized the budget changes: “Overall revenue reductions amount to 4,380,500 for a total operating fund budget of 190,852,000 for next year.” She and other staff said the administration reduced new full‑time equivalents, cut summer school and professional development, and balanced remaining shortfalls with attrition savings.

Among the personnel moves embedded in the budget are 10 new FTEs, the presentation said — nine English‑language‑learner teachers required by state staffing standards and one preschool assistant principal. The administration also described adjustments to teacher steps and to the unified pay scale; the division’s stated minimum hourly rate in the plan is $15.50.

Board members and staff answered questions about the Child Nutrition Services Fund after a member of the public raised concerns about the $8.78 million figure. A member of the finance team, Mr. Snipes, described the fund as largely operational and said most costs are labor, food and equipment: “Most of that is in labor cost, food, and then equipment replacement. . . . I think about 87% of our is that labor cost.” The board’s superintendent, Dr. Keever, and other staff noted the child nutrition program is self‑sustaining and that fund balance may be carried from year to year to support equipment replacement and ongoing operations.

The budget motion passed on a recorded voice vote with all present board members voting in favor. Implementation steps and timing for the compensation adjustments will be handled by the administration as part of the division’s annual payroll and human resources processes.

For the public, the board said additional detail remains available in the budget presentation materials and in prior presentations from April 15 and May 6. The board also noted that local funding differences required the administration to adjust planned spending; board members urged continued advocacy with state officials for long‑term funding changes.