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Board begins budget priority-setting; students urge free meals and AP support
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Lois Graham outlined budget priorities; board members debated pay parity, paraprofessional wages, playground and facilities repairs, and potential funding for AP exams and a dual-language program. Student representatives urged free lunch and help covering AP exam fees.
Acting Superintendent Dr. Lois Graham opened the budget portion of the meeting by outlining priorities for the coming year: step increases and raises to maintain a competitive job market, revisions to support-staff salary scales, maintaining employee benefits at no additional cost, hiring additional staff (including three English-language-learner teachers and a media specialist at Blacksburg High), expanded mental-health supports and operational needs such as bus-fleet maintenance and facility repairs.
"In order to recruit and retain highly qualified employees, we believe that the following actions are necessary," Dr. Graham said, listing step increases, salary scale revisions, and benefit maintenance as early priorities. Trustees then took turns giving their top two or three budget priorities.
Board discussion emphasized fixing existing issues—playgrounds, kitchen equipment, bus and facility maintenance—and closing pay disparities between district and county employees. Several trustees urged a near-term plan to bring support-staff salaries closer to county levels.
Student representatives used the public portion of the budget discussion to press for changes that directly affect learners: Olivia McNulty told trustees "no one should have to go to school without a meal," urging expansion of the free-meal program beyond breakfast. Students from multiple high schools urged the board to consider funding or subsidies for AP exam fees and to address inequities in access to materials and extracurricular participation.
Board members split on new-program priorities such as a districtwide dual-language immersion pilot: several trustees said they supported the concept but wanted clear cost estimates and sustainability plans before committing funds, while others said basic facilities and staff pay should come first.
Next steps: Administration will return with cost estimates and phased plans for priority items discussed, and trustees signaled a desire to prioritize pay-scale fixes and essential repairs in the near term.
