JAMES CITY COUNTY — As local governments prepare to finalize fiscal year 2026 budgets, determining how to allocate funds to the jointly operated Williamsburg-James City County Schools continues to be an area of contention.
WJCC Schools serve the public education needs for the City of Williamsburg and James City County in a unified school district in Virginia, a suburban community.
For fiscal 2025, city enrollment was 1,145 and county enrollment was 10,234.
As of this publication, the City of Williamsburg and JCC have yet to reach a new joint operation agreement.
Background on the WJCC Joint Contract
According to James City County, the City of Williamsburg and the county have been operating as a joint school system (WJCC Schools) since 1955.
The contract for the joint operation of schools is typically renewed every few years, with the most recent revision approved in May 2022.
In June 2023, Williamsburg announced a plan to study the feasibility of a school system split. The JCC Board of Supervisors then elected to terminate the contract to give the county as much time as possible to prepare for the possibility of a split.
JCC anticipated a potential need to find classroom space for more than 600 displaced students and to construct a new middle school. This was expected to be approximately a four-year process. In an effort to prepare for a potential split, JCC commissioned its own feasibility study of operating a separate school system.
On Oct. 11 of last year, Williamsburg indicated its preference to remain part of the joint school system and James City County responded in favor of creating a modernized joint operating agreement.
James City County’s Board of Supervisors and Williamsburg City Council have begun renegotiating a new contract.
Williamsburg Mayor Doug Pons stated, “The City of Williamsburg and James City County are actively engaged in contract negotiations through a workgroup. We remain optimistic that we will reach an agreement that creates a stronger school division and ensures the best possible educational opportunities and outcomes for all city and county students.”
“We remain willing to continue efforts to modernize our joint agreement with the city for the joint operations of our school division,” added James City County Administrator Scott Stevens.
A joint meeting of JCC, Williamsburg and the WJCC School Board was conducted on Dec. 6 to review the financial needs of the school system in preparation for the upcoming proposed budgets for both localities.
WJCC Schools Fiscal 2026 Budget Request
In the WJCC FY26 School Board Approved Budget — Executive Summary, WJCC Schools have requested $195,232,500 from the city and county — after budget adjustments presented at a March 25 Special Board meeting — an increase of $11,493,000 or 10.7%, over the current year.
Based on the fiscal 2025 budget, approximately 62% of WJCC Schools’ overall revenue is received from the city and the county — 10.27% is funded through Williamsburg while the additional 89.73% comes from the county.
The increased request is to cover a 3% salary increase for all staff, targeted investments in the teacher pay scale and the support scale, as outlined in the compensation study, division coverage of a portion of the anticipated increase in the cost of healthcare, and some modest contract changes and stipend enhancements as presented in Fiscal Year 2026 Superintendent’s Proposed Budget.
Daniel F. Keever, Acting WJCC Schools Superintendent stated, “This year, in a similar approach to previous years, WJCC Administration and the School Board worked with our funding partners — James City County and the City of Williamsburg — to articulate the needs of our students and staff. Budget conversations and meetings unfolded in January, February, and March with our school board, and with the liaison committee (representatives from the school board, county, and city) in the same timeframe. The superintendent’s proposed budget is shared each year with the funding partners at a joint meeting (this year on March 14), and the school board-approved budget is transmitted, as required by state statute, by the end of March. Our key priority is to advance the academic achievement for every student we serve.”
“The FY26 School Board-approved operating budget request prioritizes staff compensation and the addition of specific personnel to better meet the needs of the students in our community as we work collaboratively to address the stated key priority. Our community has an established tradition of supporting public education. I am committed to and will remain focused on continued engagement with our funding partners and transparently sharing updates with the School Board, staff, families, and community of Williamsburg-James City County as the budget process continues to move forward,” continued Keever.
Prior to finalization of the WJCC Schools FY26 budget, there are several key dates:
- April 15: WJCC Schools regular meeting
- May 2: Governor’s deadline to take final action on state budget
- May 6: WJCC Schools work session
- May 20: WJCC Schools budget action, to reconcile the March 25 School Board-approved budget with available revenue
Williamsburg Fiscal Year 2026 Contribution
On March 31, the Williamsburg City Manager’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget was released and stated, “The proposed FY26 budget includes the calculated percentage increase, 11.6%, of the total school request. During the budget process, the school board considers proposed budgets from the superintendent for both operating and capital expenses anticipated for the coming fiscal year. These initial budgets are based on estimated state and federal funding, resulting in a gap that local funding partners must address. The school board-approved budgets are then considered as part of the James City County budget. Ultimately, the local funding is determined by the JCC Board of Supervisors, and the City adjusts its provided funds based on that approval.”
“Typically, the City’s proposed budget meets the needs represented in the school board’s approved budget. The FY26 proposal honors this tradition with a contribution of $12.7 million in annual operating funds, a $1.4 million increase or 12.4%, and capital funds totaling $1.4 million. In total, the school system represents 14.5% of this year’s total budget.”
City Council has a scheduled work session on May 5 and will consider adoption of the fiscal 2026 budget on Thursday, May 8.
James City County Fiscal Year 2026 Contribution
When the JCC fiscal year 2026 proposed budget was announced, $99.3 million, an increase of $2.8 million from fiscal 2025, was allotted to WJCC Schools for operations to support WJCC Schools’ request to support pay raises for teachers and staff.
In that proposal, JCC states it is unable to contribute the additional $5.7 million ask from WJCC Schools.
County Administrator Scott Stevens explained, “The schools are always a challenge for us and their ask is often more than we can provide — and this year’s was bigger.”
The County proposal states that while the county and the City of Williamsburg renegotiate their joint school district contract, the county’s proposed contribution to WJCC Schools reflects an increase of $2.8 million over FY2025. Based on the prior contract’s funding formula, WJCC Schools request an additional $5.7 million from the county to support a proposed 3% salary increase for teachers and staff; 14 mandated positions; 48.85 non-mandated positions; healthcare costs; pay scale adjustments; and other personnel and program costs. WJCC Schools determine their expenditure priorities and how the funds received from localities will be spent. In addition, the funding formula used to calculate the county’s share of WJCC Schools’ costs is currently under review.
Previously, the county’s contribution was determined by applying the county’s proportionate share of enrollment based on a three-year rolling average to the total local funding needs of WJCC Schools. The new funding formula under consideration is based on the current year’s enrollment and weighted funding for the following populations: English as a Second Language, Special Education, Preschool, and Gifted and Talented students. The proposed funding formula would adjust the contribution amounts for each locality for the differential in the State’s Local Composite Index between the County and the City, concludes the explanation from the same proposal.
Prior to the April 8, Board of Supervisors meeting, Keever released a statement about the budget shortfalls, stating, “We have been advised, as a school division, of the allocated amounts for both the city and county relative to the school division’s proposed budget. There is a difference — there’s a gap between what we have requested and what’s currently being talked about as being funded by our funding partners. I think it’s important to share that that gap is going to necessitate a very careful examination of our budgeting priorities and likely put us in a position of needing to downward shift those priorities. Our two goals in the budgeting process have been increased compensation for staff and adding positions that would allow our staff to do even more to support our students. As we go through the process of justifying and reconciling the numbers, we will likely need to make some significant adjustments.”
These remarks spurred Powhatan district Superintendent Mike Hipple to speak out at the April 8 Board of Supervisors meeting, saying, “I was totally surprised by our Acting School Superintendent and the information that was put out to our citizens — and maybe this was not what he intended — but to stir the public up and let them know we are not filling their entire budget. Well, we can’t fill the entire budget — we can’t fill our entire budget. To sit there as an acting superintendent and not come to our county administrator and say, ‘I got a budget of X and I know you may not be able to fill it all. Can the two of us sit down as grown adults and discuss the differences in where we are?’
He continued, “We have worked very hard for the teachers, for the students, for the staff in this group (JCC BOS) and every year we are giving more and more and more. And, we aren’t complaining about giving more — we know they need certain things, We need certain things. But, to act like that and put one group against the other is a shame. It’s just not right. You would think someone educated would understand that theory and come to the county administrator and say ‘Look, how far are we apart? How close can we get? What can we do to work together as a team?’ It’s about time the school board works with this group as a team — not as, ‘let me see if I can set up and get more money out of it.’ You have got to be kidding! That is ridiculous. You need to sit down with us. Work together. We have a limited amount of money and we are always willing to listen. This board and this staff is always willing to listen.”
The JCC fiscal 2026 proposed budget will be discussed at a scheduled April 22 Board of Supervisors business meeting and for approval by the Board of Supervisors at its May 13 regular meeting.
