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Board to delay some vehicle and textbook purchases and weigh redirecting fleet funds to shore up insurance reserves
Summary
Staff proposed delaying large fleet purchases, reducing next-year textbook transfers by $500,000, and adjusting technology replacements to free one-time cash. The largest single recommended reallocation was $2.2 million from the fleet replacement plan to the health-insurance fund.
During the Jan. 30 budget work session, Roanoke County School Board budget staff outlined proposed adjustments to multiple replacement plans to free one-time cash for near-term needs.
Susan Peterson asked the board to consider pausing planned fleet purchases in 2026 and redirecting $2.2 million that had been budgeted for vehicles into the health-insurance fund to help cover the immediate insurance shortfall. Peterson said the division has made large fleet purchases in recent years and that vehicle replacement needs are in a steadier position now than in prior years.
Other recommended changes included reducing the textbook-adoption transfer by $500,000 next year (while adding a small recurring $50,000 inflator) and adding about $330,469 to the technology replacement plan to cover known high-ticket items (card-access system lease, building security software and scheduled replacement for certain grade-level device cohorts). Peterson said the division delayed the elementary device lease this year to avoid a $1 million lease increase, and staff recommended revisiting whether a 1:1 device strategy for lower elementary grades should remain a budget priority before leasing is resumed.
Staff also described smaller replacement-plan items: a recurring car-seat replacement line (car seats expire and need periodic replacement), planning for turf replacement reserves (adding Northside High to the long-term turf schedule and requesting county participation), and holding off on capital maintenance start dates until cash positions are clearer.
Why this matters: redirecting replacement-plan reserves is a one-time option to cover urgent operating shortfalls but can delay future replacement schedules. Peterson framed the proposed moves as temporary shifts to avoid immediate operating cuts while the board and staff finalize compensation, insurance and long-term funding strategies.
Board members asked for clear timelines and for staff to bring back updated cash-flow and fund-balance projections; no formal reallocation was approved on Jan. 30.
