Charlottesville school board approves 2025–26 operating budget after CIP and safety-audit discussion

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Charlottesville City Public Schools school board voted unanimously Feb. 27 to approve the 2025–26 operating budget as presented, following discussion about capital-improvement planning and funding priorities identified in a recent safety audit.

Dr. Gurley, a district staff member, told the board: “I come, asking that you propose the budget as presented during our last session. There have been no changes since that time.” The board then moved and seconded the measure and approved it by roll call.

The vote matters because the operating budget sets school-division spending levels for instruction, staffing and ongoing operations for the coming fiscal year; board members used the discussion to press for clearer processes on capital projects and to identify specific safety-audit items they want prioritized.

During discussion, Mister Meyer, a school board member, said he was “excited about this budget” and asked how the board could “codify what happens next in terms of, what happens with the CIP so that it’s always in front of us.” He urged a formal mechanism to track and prioritize construction and remodeling projects. The chair responded that codifying the capital-improvement program was already on the list of next steps.

Several members praised recent collaboration with the City Council. Miss Richardson, a school board member, said she appreciated the council finding “extra money” and described work to narrow the list of capital and safety items to a smaller set of priorities the city could address. Miss Torres, a school board member, said she planned to narrow the division’s request to “these 3 things, these 5 things” — identifying lower-cost items the city could take off the district’s list.

Board members also discussed timing for collective bargaining. One member said the district should aim to complete future contract negotiations before beginning budget work so terms are settled earlier in the budget cycle.

A board member raised an additional concern that the city manager had signaled a desire to hold surplus funds amid uncertainty about federal funding; members said that made it important to identify nonnegotiable safety and capital items early so they would not be deprioritized if the city withheld funds.

The formal action recorded was a motion to approve the 2025–26 operating budget as presented. Miss Becker conducted a roll-call vote in which the listed board members voted yes. The chair closed the meeting by reminding members the board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is one week later at 5 p.m.

Votes at a glance Approve 2025–26 operating budget as presented — Passed (roll call: Burns, Cooper, Dooley, Meyer, Richardson, Torres — all yes).