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Residents urge Roanoke City Council to spare school staff and after‑school programs in proposed FY26–27 budget
Summary
At a recessed April 23 public hearing, parents, educators and students told the Roanoke City Council that proposed cuts to Roanoke Public Schools—threatening teaching assistants, the PLATO program and activity buses—would harm students and underserved communities; speakers asked the council to pause nonessential amenity spending and reconsider using the schools' rainy‑day fund.
Public speakers at the Roanoke City Council recess meeting on April 23 urged the council to protect school funding and classroom support in the recommended fiscal year 26–27 budget.
"Teaching assistants, reading specialists, instructional aids, are not extras," said Laura Wade, a teaching assistant at Waseena Elementary, who told the council that she had been notified her position could be affected by budget cuts. Wade asked officials to prioritize school staffing over new murals or other amenity spending.
Jonathan Snow, an assistant dean in the School of Education, Government, and Society and a city resident, acknowledged the city's…
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