School board agrees to pursue state staff bonus in fiscal 2027, asks superintendent to certify participation

At a special meeting April 22 the Franklin County School Board agreed by consensus to seek a state-administered staff bonus in fiscal year 2027 and asked Superintendent Sharon Tuttle to sign the certification of participation.

The recommendation came from board member Doc Sears, who told colleagues the board had “only really have 1 item that we need to make a decision on this evening, and that is the bonus that is included in the caboose budget,” and that “we would recommend that the board direct, miss Tuttle to notify the Department of Education that we would like to pursue the bonus, but not until f y 27.”

Superintendent Sharon Tuttle explained the administrative step the board was being asked to approve: she said the board’s consent would allow the superintendent to sign the state certification committing the division to participate in the bonus program for FY27. Tuttle cautioned that if the local share could not be provided, the state funds for the bonus would need to be returned: “for some reason, you cannot come up with the $442.05 $0.01 local share, then the 553,000, state money would have to be returned at that time,” she said.

Board members expressed agreement that, given ongoing uncertainty in the FY26 budget, deferring the bonus to FY27 was the prudent option. Doc Sears summarized the board’s position as a direction to the superintendent rather than a separate formal vote; the superintendent will proceed with the certification paperwork required by the Virginia Department of Education.

The board did not adopt any additional budget changes at the meeting; next steps are administrative — Tuttle will submit the certification for FY27 participation and the board will address any required local matching funds in future budget discussions.