Lunenburg supervisors hear FY2026 funding requests from community partners and schools

Lunenburg County supervisors convened April 10 for a FY2026 budget work session to hear community partner funding requests and the school division’s proposed budget, and to schedule further review by the county Finance Committee.

County Administrator Tracy M. Gee opened the session and said the presentations were intended to inform the Finance Committee’s recommendations to the full board. Several local and regional nonprofit and service providers outlined the services they provide to Lunenburg residents and the amounts they seek for the coming fiscal year.

Roy-Keith Lloyd, executive director of the Southside Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP), described Lunenburg’s recent partnership with his program after Piedmont VASAP dissolved and asked the board to consider a $5,000 appropriation to support case management for county offenders. Christin Jackson, executive director of the Commonwealth Regional Council (CRC), said the CRC has helped secure roughly $6.8 million in grant funding for Lunenburg over the past five years and requested a $19,000 annual membership contribution. Jackson also requested the county consider joining the newly formed Virginia’s Heartland Regional Economic Development Alliance at $2.50 per capita, which would total $30,078 for Lunenburg; CRC staff would support the alliance’s new director.

Linda Ellis-Williams of STEPS, Inc. requested $11,000 to support a local safe-house service modeled on Madeline’s House and said eight county residents had used STEPS services in the past year. Michael Simmons presented Virginia Legal Aid Society’s request for $4,992 to support regional civil legal services, citing frequent tenant and domestic violence cases. Sarah Maddox of the Piedmont Area Veteran’s Council requested $6,000 to continue full-service assistance to veterans and their families across eight counties.

Representatives of Crossroads Community Services — Dr. Melba Moore and finance director Zach Preston — thanked the board for prior support and asked for a small increase to raise the county allocation to $68,408; Preston outlined recent organizational changes including automation of employee files, hiring a human resources director and senior management restructuring. Justine Young of Piedmont Senior Resources requested $17,271, noting the organization must receive a 10% local match to draw federal funds for elderly services.

Dr. Stanislas, the school superintendent, presented the school division’s FY26 proposed budget of $6,113,191, saying it was based on a projected average daily membership of 1,487 and would meet the minimum required local match for state and federal programs. She also reported that construction projects remained on track for spring completion and that three new school buses had been added to the transportation fleet.

Administrator Gee told the board that several partners not present had outstanding requests and that the Finance Committee would meet to review all submissions and make recommendations to the full board. The board then voted unanimously to enter a closed session to discuss cybersecurity threats, vulnerabilities and staff briefings under Virginia Code §2.2-3711(A)(19); the board later reconvened in open session and adopted a certification that the closed meeting had complied with Virginia law (§2.2-3712).

The Finance Committee will review the requests and report back with funding recommendations; no final appropriations were made at the work session.