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Amelia supervisors reject $168,502 local appropriation that would have unlocked $423,000 in state school funds
Summary
The board voted down a requested $168,502 local appropriation intended to certify required local effort and secure roughly $423,000 in additional state school funds; the board did approve several federal and state grant carryforwards.
Amelia County supervisors voted down a $168,502 local appropriation request tied to the school division’s newly approved state funding formula, a decision school leaders warned could force cuts to programs including pre‑K and special education.
Dr. Alford, speaking for Amelia County Public Schools, told the board the appropriation was the minimum needed to certify the locality’s required local effort and secure roughly $423,000 in state funds, urging supervisors to approve the measure: “We are asking for the minimum required, again, a $168,000 to get $423,000 from the state to give our employees what their counterparts will get,” she said.
Board members questioned whether the county had an identifiable surplus and asked for written figures. One supervisor demanded a written assurance: “If you could guarantee me that I have a surplus in all of our departments … I don't have an issue with it. But who's gonna guarantee me? I want to see a real number in writing, not a say so,” he said.
After extended debate about audit timing, budget conservatism and the state’s changing budget language, a motion to appropriate the $168,502 failed on a board vote.
Separately, the board approved routine carryforward appropriations the school requested: a Title I TSI carryforward of $37,068.18, a state construction funds carryforward of $1,194,469.50 and a GEAR UP federal carryforward of $27,130.05, all described by school staff as requiring no additional local match at this time.
The school official warned that without the local certification the division risks losing state funds that support teacher pay and critical student services, and said the division will follow up with the final audited numbers before year‑end.
What happens next: the school division will continue to reconcile final audit figures and may return with further appropriation requests; the board did not adopt the local appropriation at this meeting.
