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Page County schools ask supervisors for $897,750 to fund one-time retention bonuses as budget tightens
Summary
School officials told the board April 9 that tight local-match reserves and payroll pressures require asking the Board of Supervisors to appropriate $897,750 so the division can distribute $1,500 one-time retention bonuses to eligible employees; the request passed the school board and will go to supervisors next month.
Page County Public Schools requested that the Page County Board of Supervisors appropriate $897,750 so the school division can distribute one-time employee retention bonuses, the school board approved on April 9.
Ms. Miller, who presented the monthly financial report, said the school division expects to receive $311,135 in state funds authorized by the General Assembly for $1,500 bonuses but needs an estimated $586,615 in local match to fully fund the program. The resolution specifies that $51,762 of the total is attributable to food service employees and must be transferred to Fund 5 to ensure proper accounting and disbursement. The board voted to forward Resolution 2026-09 to the Board of Supervisors for appropriation.
Why it matters: Finance staff warned the board that the division's local-match balance had dipped to $1,377,922 and that March local-match receipts ($737,054.42) were the lowest seen this fiscal year. Ms. Miller told the board she expects to make it through April but warned revenues may not cover obligations through May without additional funding or timing of state reimbursements.
During the financial presentation Ms. Miller provided March totals: Fund 1 expenditures of $3,853,228.07 and an estimated federal revenue projection of roughly $2.3 million. She described budgeting steps taken this year, including a line-by-line review of salaries and benefits and projections for end-of-year accruals and payout liabilities. Board members pressed on the reliability of the current financial software (RDA) and whether the division should consider a different system; Ms. Miller said RDA has limitations and that, for now, she is manually validating budgets line by line.
Superintendent Dr. Hughes placed the bonus request in the broader budget picture. He said the county advertised a FY27 operating allocation of $48,903,261 and a $500,000 CIP allocation intended to improve welding facilities and expand CTE capacity. Dr. Hughes described ongoing work with county leaders to balance the division's budget and noted the division is targeting a balanced FY27 budget for board adoption in May.
Board action and next steps: The school board approved forwarding the appropriation request and associated transfers to the Board of Supervisors, which will consider the appropriation next month. Ms. Miller said the division plans to wait for the county's vote before making adjustments; state funds are expected in June. The resolution states that contract signatures for the 2026-27 school year will be required to receive the retention bonus, meaning eligibility depends on employees returning and signing contracts.
Votes and formal actions: The board approved Resolution 2026-09 to request the appropriation. The claims certification for April 9 (operating fund expenditures $147,632.48; Fund 5 expenditures $31,322.44; total $178,954.92) was presented and the claims were approved prior to the resolution motion.
What the division said it will monitor: local-match receipts, timing of state reimbursements (including regional-program and security grant reimbursements expected near fiscal year end), outstanding purchase orders that may be invoiced late, and the final count of employees eligible for the retention bonuses.
