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 said aging buildings, constrained local funding and one-time federal grants create a window for short- and long-term planning. Copeland detailed reductions the division has already made, including a reduction in force that removed 81 full-time equivalent positions and the loss of about 39 building-level substitutes after federal CARES Act funding expired. He also said certain federal or state grant streams supporting literacy and mental-health work are in their final obligated years and will not continue at the same levels beyond their current terms.

Discussion highlights and numbers: Copeland presented both enrollment and funding context. The division’s K–12 headcount on Jan. 31 was 7,303; pre-K–12 was 7,668. The ADM figure in the state calculation tool was 7,120.6. He said city funding for schools stood at about $39.4 million in the most recent year, while the schools argued—using an inflation adjustment of a 2014–15 city contribution—that the comparable local share would be roughly $46.2 million today. The schools’ operating ask of $5.5 million targets pay raises (3%), a $17 minimum hourly rate goal, step/longevity increases, health insurance cost increases, building-level substitutes (16 positions), 10 bus aides, and $350,000–$400,000 in increased maintenance and operations.

Council and school board members described competing pressures: some stressed taxpayers on fixed incomes and rising utility costs, others argued repairs to roofs, HVAC and athletic facilities require urgent capital spending. Vice Mayor Diemer noted the city’s recent growth and debt-capacity mechanics tied to the real-estate penny, saying a single penny in the tax rate is worth roughly $900,000 in the current cycle and pointing to upcoming biannual real-estate assessments. "That penny now, I think, is worth $900,000," Diemer said while explaining how capital borrowing capacity is calculated.

Facilities planning and consolidation: Copeland recounted past capital planning that anticipated declining enrollment and proposed new or renovated elementary schools as "triggering events" to reconfigure attendance zones and consolidate buildings. A prior proposal from 2018–19 to build a new elementary and renovate others was shelved; enrollment has since declined from the high 8,000s a decade ago to the low 7,000s today. The school board previously adopted a plan in September 2023 that would have closed T.C. Miller and Sandusky elementaries while expanding Bass Elementary; that plan was later shelved amid community pressure and debate about rebuilding Sandusky instead. Board and council members repeatedly said long-term decisions hinge on coordinated financial commitments between the two bodies.

Committee and next steps: Attendees coalesced around creating a small joint working group to move planning forward fast. Council members and school board members agreed to a near-term 2-by-2 ad hoc group (two council members and two school board members) to develop recommendations and report back publicly in April; proposed appointees named in the meeting were school board members Lowry and Dr. Day and council members Chris Verratti and Stephanie Reed. The working group is charged with drafting a short-term funding framework and advising on a longer-term school funding formula and an infrastructure plan. City staff said the capital improvement plan will be discussed Feb. 25 and the city manager will propose the city budget on the second Tuesday in March.

Formal actions and formal votes: The meeting produced no binding appropriation or capital-authorizing vote. The two explicit formal items recorded in the transcript were (1) a consensus to form the ad hoc working group (2-by-2 to begin work and report in April) and (2) a motion to adjourn, which the meeting chair called and the body approved. No vote was recorded on the schools’ $5.5 million operating request or the $118.2 million CIP at the session.

What was not decided: The division’s operating request and the capital plan remain requests; the city has not committed local operating dollars beyond its current contribution level. The meeting did not resolve whether Sandusky will be rebuilt, renovated or whether consolidation plans will proceed; those are to be examined by the joint working group and in the regular budget process.

The session closed with a commitment to continued meetings between the boards and staff to produce a joint plan and to return to the public with recommendations in April.