Fluvanna superintendent seeks roughly $530,700 local increase in FY2027 proposal, recommends 3% raises and absorbs insurance hike
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Summary
The superintendent presented a needs-based FY2027 budget that recommends a 3% across-the-board pay increase, absorbs projected health‑insurance premium growth, and requests about $530,727 in additional local funding; the budget includes targeted staffing, a $300,000 placeholder for cafeteria debt, and a next-step vote on Feb. 18.
The superintendent of Fluvanna County Public Schools presented a proposed FY2027 budget on Feb. 9, asking county supervisors to approve roughly $530,727 in additional local funding and recommending targeted investments in compensation, staffing and school nutrition.
The proposal centers on a recommended 3% increase across pay scales and pay bands and a plan to absorb projected increases in health‑insurance costs rather than pass those increases to employees, the superintendent said. The budget also includes new and restored positions — from speech‑language services and counselors to maintenance and transportation support — and a $300,000 placeholder to address growing cafeteria meal debt and support district participation in the Community Eligibility Provision so students have access to school meals.
Board members and staff framed the budget as needs‑based and tied to enrollment-driven state funding formulas. The superintendent told the board the plan uses conservative average daily membership (ADM) estimates and noted that most state funding is driven by ADM. A slide in the presentation cited a local funding request in the range of $530,727 to help close the gap between projected revenues and the division’s spending priorities.
Presenters walked the board through compensation and benefits figures, showing the district’s largest expense remains personnel costs. The superintendent said the budget includes a 3% pay recommendation "across all scales and pay bands" and reviewed illustrative paycheck scenarios for a seven‑year teacher and an instructional assistant to show the net effect after payroll deductions and the proposed insurance treatment. The presentation included a placeholder for a projected health‑insurance premium increase (discussed by staff as 9%) and the superintendent’s recommendation that the division absorb that increase rather than pass it on to employees.
Staffing requests in the proposal included restoring positions previously funded by expiring grants, adding a speech‑language pathologist to reduce expensive contracted services, converting several specialist roles to higher‑priority operating positions, and modest additions to athletics and extracurricular staffing (stipends for middle‑school head and assistant coaches and additions to JV/assistant roles). The superintendent described the maintenance team as "lean" and asked for added capacity to handle about 1,000 documented work orders per year; transportation staff shortfalls prompted a request for a part‑time dispatcher role to cover early-morning and late‑evening bus hours.
Nutrition and cafeteria funding drew sustained attention. Presenters said unpaid meal debt had grown toward roughly $100,000 in recent years despite multiple mitigation efforts. The budget includes a $300,000 placeholder intended to address meal‑program shortfalls and to support district participation in the Community Eligibility Provision so students retain access to school breakfasts and lunches.
Public testimony during the hearing reinforced staffing and maintenance concerns. Ashley Crocker of the Fork Union District told the board: "Please pass a budget that reflects what is truly needed, not what feels safest to ask for. Our kids are worth it." She urged the board to request full‑time nursing and maintenance capacity rather than half‑positions.
Board members asked for a clear list of "above‑the‑line" or unfunded priorities the superintendent had reviewed; staff said that list exists within the working spreadsheet and offered to circulate an editable link. The board set the next procedural steps: members are scheduled to vote on the budget on Feb. 18; if approved, presenters will appear before the county supervisors on Feb. 25 to seek the requested local funding.
Votes at a glance - Adoption of the meeting agenda: motion made and approved at the start of the meeting. - Adjournment: final motion approved.
What happens next The school board expects a formal vote on the FY2027 budget proposal on Feb. 18. If the board approves the request, staff will present the budget to county supervisors on Feb. 25; the supervisors will decide the local contribution as part of their process.
Sources and attributions in this report are limited to statements made aloud during the Feb. 9 Fluvanna County Public Schools board meeting. Direct quoted material is attributed to meeting speakers as identified in the public transcript.
