Portsmouth leaders outline budget gap as schools request about $14.7 million in new operating support

Portsmouth city and school officials met in a joint work session to review municipal revenue pressures and the Portsmouth Public Schools’ estimate of needs, during which the schools asked the city for about $14.7 million in additional operating support and advanced several multi‑year capital projects.

City Chief Financial Officer Janette Fernandez said Portsmouth has enjoyed robust revenue growth in recent years — “The revenue growth for Portsmouth is by most definitions robust” — but warned that several favorable, one‑time or temporary sources have ended or plateaued, heightening medium‑term fiscal pressure.

The point of the session, Fernandez said, was to show how revenue and cost trends diverge: while revenues averaged roughly 6% growth over recent years, general fund costs rose about 11% from 2023–2025 in Portsmouth’s analysis, producing a smaller pool of discretionary dollars for new programs.

Why it matters: City budget staff quantified the constraint. Trey Burke, Portsmouth’s budget officer, told the joint meeting that projected revenue (about $355 million) is largely consumed by must‑fund obligations — personnel, the school transfer, debt service, pensions and utilities — leaving roughly $67 million for discretionary priorities while current requests exceed that supply by tens of millions.

On the school side, Superintendent Dr. Bracie presented the division’s estimate of needs, prioritizing staff compensation and student supports. Dr. Bracie said the division proposes honoring the governor’s recommended 2% increase for SOQ‑funded positions and adding step increases for all employees, an item the superintendent estimated would cost about $9.06 million. The division also proposed new positions and operating needs tied to the Portsmouth Advanced Career Education (PACE) Center, school safety staffing, student support specialists and instructional roles. Combined, the operating additions and adjustments produced a net school request to the city of roughly $14.66 million.

Dr. Bracie also outlined priority capital projects in the schools’ five‑year CIP submission: a new K–8 school (estimated $85 million), mobile classrooms to support a middle‑school transition (estimated $9 million), central office relocation/renovation options (multi‑million, under study), replacement work for Churchland Middle/High (estimated ~$55 million) and an auditorium renovation at I.C. Norcom High (about $1.5 million).

On specific program timing, Dr. Bracie said the PACE Center remains on track for a July handoff and that students have already applied and been accepted; the division plans to enroll students when the new facility opens for the school year.

Council members sought detail and pressed for options. When asked whether the state budget will materially change the local ask, school finance staff said the House and Senate plans differ and that a reliable local estimate is not yet available; school leaders described the potential state impact as “not specified” until the General Assembly finalizes its conference actions. On the question of mobile classrooms used during the middle‑school transition, Dr. Bracie said the division prefers not to place sixth graders in temporary modules and would instead consider locating older middle‑school cohorts in those spaces to limit movement for younger students.

Next steps: City Manager Steven Carter told school leaders he must deliver a balanced city budget in two weeks and asked staff to work together immediately to reconcile priorities. Dr. Bracie and school CFO Theodore Faulk agreed to meet with the city budget team to prioritize requests and seek efficiencies ahead of the city’s deadline.

No formal action or vote was taken at the session; the meeting served to align assumptions, highlight time‑sensitive needs and establish follow‑up work between city and school finance staff.