Isle of Wight school leaders ask for $7.1 million boost to FY27 budget, citing SPED growth and pay gap

Isle of Wight County school leaders asked the county on Thursday to help fund a roughly $7.1 million increase in the school divisionFY27 request, driven primarily by teacher pay raises, a growing special-education caseload and recurring operational costs, Superintendent Dr. Kramer said.

"Everything in this budget is really vital to the school division," Dr. Kramer told the joint meeting of the Board of Supervisors and the school board. He said the division expects about $2.5 million in additional state revenue for FY27 but still faces a net request of approximately $7.1 million. "The vast majority of that funding will be for pay increases at $5,100,000," he said, adding roughly $1,500,000 is for new positions primarily for special education and a bit over $1,000,000 for employee health insurance.

Why it matters: school officials said Isle of Wight is losing ground on compensation compared with neighboring divisions and that pay is a leading reason teachers leave. The division presented a consultantrecommended target of paying teachers at the 70th percentile of regional market rates to become more competitive.

The compensation ask would be large and front-loaded. Dr. Kramer cited the consultant—s finding that the division falls behind most neighboring districts and said raising beginning teachers to the 70th percentile would produce "double-digit" increases for many staff; the presentation showed a rough average of about 12.7% for beginning teachers.

County staff framed the request against broader revenue constraints. The county administrator noted that while local tax revenue has grown in recent years, such rapid increases in school spending may not be sustainable: the schoolbudget request for FY27 represents a roughly 19.66% increase in the schools' budgeted amount, the administrator said, and county leaders cautioned against locking into a fixed-percentage funding formula.

Special-education pressure: the director of special education told the boards the SPED population has climbed about 15% since the 2021 school year (an increase the presentation estimated at roughly 117 students). She said SPED students now make up about 16% of enrollment and that a third of the recent increase requires intensive services. "Those additional 5 I.A.s are there to support the students because of behavioral difficulties," the director said, describing requests for additional self-contained classrooms, IAs and a part-time speech pathologist to meet caseload and compliance requirements.

The staff warned about the cost of outplacements when classrooms are understaffed: officials said outside placements average about $50,00060,000 per student, plus extra transportation costs for distant programs.

Operational and safety costs: the presentation listed $375,000 in increased purchase services largely to raise substitute pay so the division does not have to pull SPED IAs from classrooms; staff also proposed $422,000 to contract six additional unarmed school security officers (SSOs) to staff weapons-detection systems and provide consistent coverage at middle and high schools. Dr. Kramer described the detection systems as "another layer of protection" and said the district already found a weapon using the technology.

Capital and grants: school staff recapped recent capital work and grant awards: about $14,500,000 invested in 20232025 capital projects, a $14,000,000 state school construction grant recently awarded, a $2.7 million Isle Maritime Trades Academy Lab School grant over five years and other competitive awards. The division also listed roughly $75,000,000 in projected future capital needs, with the $14 million grant to be applied against that total. Dr. Kramer also cited a $7,000,000 HVAC replacement at Carrollton Elementary in his presentation as an example of single-project cost estimates.

Budget timing and benefits: staff and supervisors discussed open enrollment and the school boarddecision on plan renewal or a new carrier. Officials warned that open-enrollment selections (starting May 1) could change the health-insurance line by as much as about $1,000,000; the school board must select a plan before the county's budget deadlines. The CFO told members the division currently has about $2.5 million in reserves for self-insurance and estimated they would need roughly $3.03.5 million to fund run-out claims if the division moves away from self-insurance.

Next steps: school staff said the school board will act on its benefit procurement at its next meeting and the supervisors will consider the school budget request as they finalize the county budget. Both boards voted to go into a closed session later in the meeting to discuss land acquisition for future school construction; upon returning they certified the closed session.

What was not decided: the boards did not adopt a final funding plan and no specific appropriations or tax-rate changes were approved at the joint meeting. Supervisors repeatedly pressed for clarity on which items are strictly required versus desirable and on how the division would sustain higher recurring personnel costs going forward.

Reporting notes: article uses direct quotations and financial figures given by board and staff during the March 26, 2026 joint meeting; figures described as estimates in the presentation are reported as described by staff. The county and school division provided slides and a budget packet referenced at the meeting for additional detail.

The board adjourned into closed session to discuss the acquisition of real property for school construction under Va. Code 2.2-3711(a)(3).