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Middlesex superintendent proposes FY26 budget with 7% teacher raise and four new positions
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Seitz presented a FY26 budget that includes a 7% pay increase for teachers, four new positions to support special education and early grades, and a request for an additional $979,255 in local funding; she said final state numbers depend on the General Assembly.
Dr. Seitz, superintendent of Middlesex County Public Schools, presented the school division's proposed FY26 budget and said she will return March 10 with a final version for board approval and submission to the Board of Supervisors by April 1, the deadline required by the Code of Virginia.
The proposal bases next year’s funding on an average daily membership (ADM) of 1,170, up from 1,160 this year. Dr. Seitz told the board that state funding in the governor's budget is up by just over $200,000 while federal funds are down about $5,000 and other revenues are down roughly $12,000; the division remains heavily dependent on local support, which is expected to cover about 62–64% of operating costs. She said the draft budget assumes an additional local request of $979,255, an increase of nearly 8% over current local support.
The budget proposal would add four positions: an early childhood special education paraprofessional, a speech-language pathologist, a division special education coordinator, and a K–2 math coach. Dr. Seitz said those hires respond to class-size and service-need requirements for preschool and students with disabilities and to identified deficits in foundational math skills.
On compensation, Dr. Seitz said teacher recruitment and retention remain a pressing challenge and that Middlesex ranks low compared with nearby divisions for starting pay. The FY26 draft includes a 7% increase for teachers and a 4% increase for all other staff; she noted the governor's budget contains a 3% raise for SOQ-funded positions but said the division's proposal exceeds that to remain competitive.
Dr. Seitz also outlined capital and operational priorities including a bus replacement cycle (about one bus per year), a standby generator at St. Cloud Walker (designated as a backup shelter), and rooftop units for the high school cafeteria. She said capital outlay shows a near 47% increase in the proposal because of those added items. Salary and benefits account for roughly three-quarters of the division’s budget, with instructional personnel receiving the bulk of those dollars.
Dr. Seitz emphasized the figures presented are based on the governor's budget and that final local requests may change if the General Assembly alters state funding. The board will consider the final proposed budget at its March 10 meeting before formal submission to the Board of Supervisors.
