Lynchburg leaders agree to joint working group after schools request $5.5 million operating boost and $118 million in capital projects

Lynchburg City Council and the Lynchburg City Schools Board met in a joint work session on Feb. 18 to review the school division’s 2026 operating request and capital improvement plan and to discuss next steps for aging facilities and declining enrollment.

Interim Superintendent Ben Copeland told the joint body the schools are seeking an additional $5.5 million in local operating funds for the coming budget year and have included a $118.2 million capital improvement plan that lists a $30 million rehabilitation of Sandusky Elementary among priority projects. "The components of our ask for an additional $5,500,000 is first and foremost to fund the 3% pay raise for all employees," Copeland said, and he described other line items that include moving the division's minimum hourly rate toward $17, funding for building-level substitutes and 10 bus aides, and increased health insurance and utilities costs.

Why it matters: Lynchburg’s school enrollment and state funding formulas shape local revenue for schools. Copeland emphasized enrollment and funding metrics the division uses: “For Lynchburg, on January 31, the kindergarten through twelfth grade number of students was 7,303,” while the state-derived average daily membership (ADM) used for funding calculations was 7,120.6. Those counts feed into state formulas that, combined with the local composite index, determine how much state funding each division receives.

The superintendent and several councilors and school board members…