Pittsylvania County School Board approves $125.7 million proposed 2025–26 budget amid state and county uncertainty

At its March 25, 2025 meeting, the Pittsylvania County School Board voted to approve the proposed 2025–26 school operating budget of $125,699,356 and a school nutrition budget of $157,225 after a public hearing that drew no speakers.

Board members said the adoption is conditional on state and county actions that remain unresolved. Miss Burnley, a school division staff member presenting the budget, told the board the governor had not yet signed the state budget and that preliminary information showed the governor cutting a support-cap line item by roughly two-thirds — a reduction that Miss Burnley said could represent more than $1 million to the division. She also said a required local match would reduce that figure somewhat, and that the county administrator’s proposed budget reduces the board of supervisors’ increase from the current proposed 6% to about 4.5%, a change Miss Burnley said could translate to roughly a $400,000 cut from the county contribution. Taken together, she warned, the division’s revenue could fall by as much as $2 million compared with the figures in the proposed budget.

“Right now the governor did not sign it yet. He did not,” Miss Burnley told the board, and she described the division’s position as speculative until the General Assembly and county finalize decisions. She noted the county administrator will present a budget on April 15 and the board of supervisors has pushed its approval meeting to May 20, which could delay contracting and other expenditures.

Dr. Jones, a school board member, urged fellow board members to lobby the board of supervisors and local legislators to restore what he and others called the long-standing support-cap funding, noting the Virginia Association of School (VAS) work to reinstate support-cap funding that dates to a 2008 reduction. “Please reach out to the board of supervisors and encourage them to fully fund the schools,” Dr. Jones said, adding he had shared draft correspondence for members to use in outreach to legislators.

The board approved the budget by roll call. (Roll-call votes were recorded during the meeting; the roll call on the motion to adopt the budget recorded affirmative votes from the members present.)

Board staff said the division will proceed with the adopted figures for now; if funding is reduced later, the board will not be required to hold another public hearing to lower the budget, but any increase beyond the adopted amounts would require a new public hearing.

The division also noted that planned purchases include Canvas software provided at the state level and one-time projects that could be funded if revenue remains available. The board will monitor actions by the General Assembly and the county administrator’s April 15 presentation before final contract approvals.