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Roanoke board approves request to reappropriate $4.3 million and will forward it to city council
Summary
The Roanoke City School Board voted to forward a reappropriation request tied to City Council Ordinance 4339-012026 that would allocate $1.3 million for FY27 contingency and $3 million for capital improvements and deferred maintenance; board members debated contingency sizing before approving the request.
The Roanoke City School Board on June 23 voted to forward a reappropriation request to Roanoke City Council seeking unspent appropriated balances under Ordinance 4339-012026. The proposal allocates $1,300,000 for contingency items in fiscal year 2027 and $3,000,000 in one-time funding for capital improvements and deferred maintenance, which the board said would maximize facility longevity and reduce future costs.
Dr. Jameson moved the request, and Miss Quintana seconded; after discussion the motion carried and the request will be transmitted to the city council. The board framed the request as the best use of one-time monies to address high-school overcrowding (modular learning cottages) and to restore deferred maintenance items identified during FY27 budget development. "All funds to be used will maximize longevity of RCPS facilities and reduce future costs," a board member summarized during the motion presentation.
Board members debated how large of a contingency to hold. Christopher T. Link cautioned the $1.3 million contingency brings the division to roughly a 1% contingency level and said he would prefer a larger cushion, noting last years health insurance swing could have consumed such a contingency. "This gets us to 1%. This gets us to the bare minimum," Link said, urging caution. Dr. Jameson said he would "advocate to the full 5%" as a long-term target and characterized the motion as a move toward fiscal responsibility rather than recreating a fund balance. Dr. White and other board members stressed that deferring maintenance increases future costs and that the division lacks taxing authority, so any true emergency would require seeking additional funds from the city council.
The board voted without a recorded roll-call tally in the transcript and directed staff and board members to coordinate with city council members to provide context for the request. The reappropriation request will now be considered by the Roanoke City Council under the referenced ordinance number.
