Albemarle superintendent presents FY26 needs-based funding request totaling about $304 million, cites $7.8 million gap

Matthew Haas, superintendent of Albemarle County Public Schools, presented the division’s fiscal year 2026 needs‑based draft funding request to the Albemarle County School Board, saying the total budget across all funds is just over $304 million and that the division faces a projected $7.8 million funding gap.

Haas described the presentation as the statutorily required first step in the budget process and said the board will adopt a balanced FY27 budget in May. “This is not the same thing as a balanced budget, but it is the first step into getting there,” he said. He also framed public education as “an investment,” saying, “Public education is not a cost. It is an investment.”

The request covers the school fund and special revenue funds. Haas said roughly 71 percent of total revenues (about $216.5 million) come from local sources, nearly 25 percent (about $75 million) from the state and just under 4 percent (about $12 million) from the federal government. He said most federal funding — about $11.5 million — is restricted as special revenue for programs such as school lunch, IDEA and Title I and therefore cannot be used flexibly in the main operating budget.

Haas outlined drivers of rising expenditures: higher…