Residents and staff urge higher teacher and support-staff pay during Spotsylvania budget hearing
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Citizens, educators and an IT assistant urged the Spotsylvania County School Board to adopt a budget that raises teacher and support-staff pay, protect benefits and reclassify ITAs to 12‑month roles.
Speakers at a public hearing on the Spotsylvania County Public Schools (SCPS) proposed FY2026 budget urged the school board to prioritize raises for classroom teachers, paraeducators and technology staff and to keep health-insurance costs low for lower-paid employees.
“My name is Melissa Huntley Bosco. I am in the Livingston District. My 2 sons are at Post Oak Middle School, and I support the budget as I've seen it presented,” said Melissa Huntley Bosco, who asked the board to ensure teacher salaries rise so the division can compete with neighboring counties.
The superintendent's proposed budget drew support from the division’s union. “I am here to speak in favor of doctor Mitchell's proposed workforce investments,” said Melissa Brace, president of the Spotsylvania Education Association. Brace told the board the proposal would help retain veteran teachers and urged the board to keep the superintendent’s increases in its final request to the board of supervisors.
Several speakers described direct financial strain for classified staff and instructional-technology assistants (ITAs). Jared Stuber, an ITA at Spotsylvania Middle School, said, “We make $24,000 annually,” and described difficulty affording rent and other basic needs while managing a large device fleet in schools.
Other commenters — including teachers, paraeducators and long-time residents — asked the board for unanimous support of a needs-based budget when the division presents its request to the county board of supervisors. Resident Marcus Garcia thanked the superintendent and staff for producing a detailed budget document and asked for clearer explanations of several line items.
The public hearing preceded a work session in which the superintendent and senior staff reviewed the budget matrix and answered board questions. Speakers repeatedly asked the board to preserve the health‑insurance benefit level for lower-paid employees, to fund additional special‑education and English‑learner positions, and to reclassify ITAs to 12‑month employees with higher pay.
The public comment period closed before the board proceeded to its work-session review of the superintendent’s FY2026 proposal.