Halifax County budget hearing focuses on $16M carryover for school athletic complex, carryover transparency

HALIFAX, Va. — Halifax County officials on May 19 told residents that approximately $16 million in carryover funds will be used to finish an athletic complex connected to the county’s new high school and said the FY2027 advertised budget shows an overall reduction because major capital projects are winding down.

John Montoro, interim finance director, said the advertised FY2027 budget “reflected an approximate $25 million reduction from the prior fiscal year budget, primarily due to the completion of major capital projects,” and offered to answer questions about specific line items. He said roughly $125 million of the high school project was funded by bonds and grants and about $4 million from local funding; the athletic complex is a separate element requiring about $16 million more to complete.

Supervisor K. McDowell questioned whether the school system’s additional $2 million demolition request had already been included in the high school budget and whether the roughly $16.6 million figure covered grading, utilities, paving and athletic elements. Montoro told the Board the $2 million for demolition and the athletic-complex costs are separate line items and that some funding shown in FY2027 represents carryover from prior years rather than newly appropriated dollars.

Resident Jennifer Champion pressed for clarity about a carryover line she identified in the FY2027 document of about $16.248 million and an additional roughly $2.7 million she said appeared separately. Montoro said the $16 million figure represented available fund balance accumulated across multiple years and that portions of those funds had been designated by the Board for debt service and reserves. “The amount shown in the carryover line item represented only the amount needed to balance the current year budget,” he said, adding that the County did not need to use reserves to balance FY2026, so those amounts did not necessarily appear in the prior year’s budget.

Vice Chair R. Smart and Supervisor D. Witt described carryover amounts as unspent funds that departments retain and the County preserves across fiscal years to avoid unnecessary year-end spending; they said much of the carryover funding at issue relates to school projects. Montoro also said the County was not committing future one-percent funds to the athletic complex and confirmed the necessary funding was currently available within the proposed FY2027 budget.

On athletics facilities, Vice Chair Smart confirmed planned work would refurbish the high school tennis courts; public commenters had urged the Board to ensure public access to courts outside school hours.

The Board closed the public hearing after receiving comments and later approved a motion to adjourn, 8-0. The FY2027 budget remains subject to the Board’s next procedural steps for adoption.