Harrisonburg superintendent details fiscal 2026 priorities, calls for pay increases and new special‑education staff

Superintendent Daniel Richards presented the Harrisonburg City Public Schools’ recommended fiscal 2026 operating budget on March 4, highlighting proposed personnel investments and next steps in the review process.

Richards said the recommended budget is needs‑based and centers on four priorities: academic excellence, partnerships, attracting and retaining talented staff, and safe learning environments. He described the division’s approach to enrollment forecasting and revenue sources, noting reliance on state funding as the largest source and a substantial local share from the City of Harrisonburg. "The state is offering teachers a 3 percent raise," Richards said, framing the local budget choices that follow.

Why it matters: the budget proposal outlines recurring personnel commitments and new positions that would carry into future years. The superintendent described a package that would give a 3% across‑the‑board raise to staff while increasing pay more for lowest‑paid school employees, raising substitute pay and adding positions targeted to special education and English‑learner services.

Key details and proposals

- Pay and compensation: Richards said the division plans a 3% raise across staff and an additional targeted increase for lowest‑paid employees. Separately, the finance director gave a rule‑of‑thumb cost estimate: "Every 1% for everyone is about 850,000. So we'd be looking at an additional 425,000 for that half percent," said Kirwan. The recommended budget also increases substitute pay to be more competitive.

- New positions and staffing: the proposal includes roughly 40 new full‑time equivalent (FTE) positions, of which Richards said 20 respond to changes in state standards for English‑learner staffing. The budget also proposes six elementary‑level special‑education lead positions (one per elementary campus) to strengthen IEP development, family engagement and in‑school supports; additional special‑education teachers and paraprofessionals were listed as priorities as well.

- Revenue assumptions and risks: Richards said the division is asking the city for approximately $2.9 million (about a 6% increase) above the current city appropriation and expects a possible 5.6% increase from the state if the General Assembly’s budget holds. He noted federal funding is a comparatively small share of the total operating budget but flagged potential federal changes: "we have calculated based on existing legislation that may or may not go through that that could be a $1,300,000 impact on us," Richards said.

- Other items: the superintendent identified funding for core curricular resources, multi‑tiered student supports (MTSS) tools, continued investment in mental‑health teams (psychologists, social workers, counselors and behavior specialists) and cyclical technology refresh as priorities.

Process and next steps

Richards said the budget team began meetings with school and program budget managers in November and invited board questions; the board set a public work session on March 18 at 5:30 p.m. at Rocktown High School for a detailed review. Board members were asked to submit questions to the superintendent and to the finance director, Kirwan, who pledged to post Q&A publicly ahead of the work session.

What the board will weigh: board members and staff noted tradeoffs between honoring the state‑level raise and the division’s desire to compress salaries so lower‑paid employees receive relatively larger increases. Richards said the recommended package includes an extra targeted increase for custodians and instructional/nutrition assistants to move toward a living wage.

Evidence: presentation slides and staff comments at the March 4 school‑board meeting explained assumptions, FTE requests that were not funded this year, and the schedule for public hearings and the capital improvement program (CIP) review.

Ending: Board members thanked finance and budget staff for the work on the book and materials. The superintendent asked the public to submit questions via email; the administration said it will answer questions publicly at the March 18 work session.