Schools outline $1.84M appropriation request after modest state revenue boost

School staff told the joint work session that final state allocations increased Charlottesville City Schools' FY26–27 state revenue by $318,847 and presented a technical amendment to the school budget that would reallocate contingency funds to cover collective bargaining and operational adjustments.

"Charlottesville City Schools received an additional $318,847 in state revenue," the presenter explained during the information session. School staff described how late state budget action and a delayed final allocation changed earlier projections; the superintendent recommended a 2% additional administrative pay increase (bringing administrative raises to 5%), and staff warned that collective bargaining and other obligations could require larger asks next cycle. Staff said they will request the council appropriate $1,840,576 from the schools' operating contingency to support licensed and support personnel bargaining outcomes and to fund bus-driver conversions and a transportation study, leaving an estimated $159,424 in contingency.

Councilors and school board members spent substantial time discussing the process and the timing of the request, including whether the school board felt it had been adequately consulted on the contingency mechanism. City staff said the contingency was designed to let the city adopt a legally compliant budget while the state finalized numbers and that the appropriation on the council agenda the following week would complete the legal step to release funds.

School staff also described the personnel and transportation implications of the amendment and said a compensation study for administrators is under way with results expected in October–November. The joint session concluded with staff saying council would act next Monday to appropriate the funds and the school board expected to follow in September.