Board approves $107 million appropriation to Roanoke County Public Schools; members ask staff to assess shared-services offset

Summary

Supervisors voted to appropriate $107,000,000 from year-end funds to Roanoke County Public Schools. Supervisor Paul Mahoney urged the county administrator to work with the school superintendent to identify roughly $5.2 million in county-provided shared services and to explore partial reimbursement or budget adjustments in the upcoming fiscal cycle.

The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the second reading of Ordinance H2 — an appropriation of $107,000,000 from year-end funds to Roanoke County Public Schools.

Supervisor Paul Mahoney, who led the discussion on the item, told colleagues staff had produced a preliminary estimate that county government provides about $5.2 million a year in unbilled shared services to the school division, including procurement and legal-review support. Mahoney asked the county administrator to work with the school superintendent during the upcoming budget cycle to identify opportunities for recognition or partial reimbursement and to reduce duplicative functions where possible.

Other board members expressed support for further vetting during the budget process and for continuing the strong funding formula that supports schools. The ordinance was moved, seconded and approved on a roll-call vote with five affirmative votes recorded.

The board directed staff to incorporate the shared-services analysis into budget talks over the next two months as the county and school division prepare their respective FY27 budget proposals.