Shenandoah County School Board adopts 2026–27 budget with tiered raises and restores tutoring

Shenandoah County School Board on April 27 adopted its fiscal year 2026–27 budget and capital improvement plan, approving a tiered salary structure and allocating $121,000 to reinstate a tutoring program that had been removed as a contingency.

The action came after a lengthy work-session discussion in which Superintendent Dr. Shepherd said state funding remained uncertain following the General Assembly’s special session and staff recommended contingency cuts to balance the draft budget. School division staff and board members debated options for raises and program funding before moving to action.

Why it matters: the board’s decision preserves the tutoring line that staff and board members argued supports at-risk students’ academic gains while trimming proposed pay increases for the highest-paid central-office employees to free money for instructional programs.

Board debate and numbers Dr. Shepherd said the division had taken a cautious approach because it did not yet know the state allotment: "We do not know what our state funds are going to be," she said, explaining staff had reduced or deferred several proposed positions and removed the $121,000 tutoring line pending clarity on state support. Staff also increased the budget’s vacancy assumption and modestly reduced the proposed across-the-board raise to help close a gap.

Caitlin, a finance staff member, explained the vacancy assumption model and the results of several pay-schedule scenarios. Caitlin told the board a 0.25 percentage-point change in the raise equated to roughly $150,000, and that moving the raise from 3% to 2% across central-office salaries over $100,000 would save about $25,000 for central-office employees (estimates varied depending on which populations were included).

Several board members pressed for preserving tutoring, with one member (board member, speaker 8) describing a teacher’s report that a tutored student’s math score rose "from a 150 to a 500," an example used to argue tutoring’s impact.

Motions and votes A motion to adopt the budget as presented (3% plus step) was made and opened for amendment. Board member (speaker 7) proposed a tiered amendment: 2.85% plus step for employees earning up to $100,000 and 2.25% plus step for salaries over $100,000. The amendment was seconded and passed on a roll call vote, 5–1. A subsequent amendment to allocate approximately $121,000 of the savings to restore tutoring was moved and seconded and passed 6–0. The final budget as amended then passed unanimously on roll call.

What the budget includes - A county capital contribution shown in the presentation as $5,000,000 to support capital improvement projects; staff highlighted HVAC priority work for elementary schools and roof replacements, including a $600,000 roof replacement at Central High and a $500,000 track resurfacing at Strasburg High. - Specific staff actions: several proposed positions were frozen or deferred (including a special education compliance teacher and a vacant interventionist) pending state funds; the attendance recovery program remained in the draft. - Restored tutoring: the board specifically allocated $121,000 to bring back the tutoring program that had been removed as a contingency.

Next steps and implementation Staff said any state funds later received would require budget amendment and appropriation by the board, and that programs restored with one-time or contingent funding would need to meet the compliance requirements tied to those funds. The board also approved a personnel list with one exception during the meeting.

The budget and CIP will be posted as adopted and staff will proceed with required contracting and scheduling for capital projects and program reinstatement as directed.