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Powhatan leaders debate tax-rate tradeoffs as schools warn of multimillion-dollar shortfall
Summary
At a March 11 joint workshop, county staff proposed a balanced FY27 budget at a 77-cent tax rate while school leaders said increases in the local composite index and declining enrollment have left the division facing roughly a $3.8to4 million operating shortfall and a request for a larger county transfer.
Powhatan County and the Powhatan County Public Schools spent a contentious joint workshop on March 11 weighing how much taxpayers should contribute to next year's schools budget as county staff presented a proposed fiscal year 2027 budget anchored at a 77-cent real-estate tax rate.
County presenters said the FY27 proposal would produce a balanced budget at a 77-cent rate and deliver a transfer to schools of roughly $2.6 million above current levels, while projecting net countywide revenues of $131.6 million across funds. "We're proposing a balanced budget at a 77-cent tax rate," a county presenter told the joint boards during the overview.
The schools responded that a set of converging pressures leaves them short of what they called the operating dollars they need to maintain services. School staff said changes in the state's local composite index (LCI) -- which determines the local share of education…
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