Winchester school board approves FY26 budget amendments to allocate state grant and bolster food service fund

Winchester, Va. — The Winchester City Public Schools Board approved fiscal‑year 2026 budget amendments at its April 20 meeting that add state grant dollars to school programs and increase the district’s food service fund balance to cover rising costs.

Miss McDonald, presenting the amendments, said the district had received “a state extended school year grant for Hanley of 185,000 from the state,” and a school improvement award totaling “$71,998” split between Virginia Avenue and Daniel Morgan Intermediate ($39,888 and $32,110, respectively). She also noted a $1,500 donation from Grace Lutheran and a $150,000 supplemental appropriation from the food service fund to address higher expenses for food, cleaning supplies, equipment and salaries.

The funding will be added to line items the district had included in its original budget to reflect monies received after the budget was adopted. Miss McDonald characterized the food service appropriation as drawn from the food service fund balance to cover increased operational costs.

Board members moved and seconded the motion to approve the FY26 amendments (motion by Mr. Island; second by Ms. Harris). The board approved the amendments by voice vote; no roll‑call tally was announced.

The board’s action directs staff to incorporate the grants, donation and supplemental appropriation into the district’s FY26 accounts; Miss McDonald asked only for approval and did not announce further programmatic specifics at the meeting. The approval follows the board’s routine practice of bringing supplemental appropriations forward in October and April.