WILLIAMSBURG — Facing a $7.3 million shortfall in the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Budget, Acting Superintendent Daniel Keever presented a slimmed-down budget to the Williamsburg-James City County School Board Tuesday night.
The new proposal maintains a 3% salary increase for all staff, a board priority. Savings were found by revising mandatory increases, compensation-related adjustments and the elimination of a number of position requests and other requests — AP exam fees, the operation supply cost increase and cognitive coaching/professional development.
The total savings narrows the gap between what the budget asks from the City of Williamsburg and James City County from $7,342,128 to $2,777,128 — a total of $4,565,000 in savings.
Factoring in potential additional state revenue ranging from $750,000 to $1,962,000, that gap could further lower the additional funds needed to somewhere in the range of $815,128 to $2,027,628, according to the presentation delivered by Chief Financial Officer Rene Ewing. The additional funds would have to come from the city and the county, or through additional cuts, she explained.
Keever said it was difficult trimming what he said was a “budget of need,” noting throughout the budgeting process, there had been two primary focuses: compensation for staff and more personnel to help the student population that was most in need.
“We are making the recommendation that a number of the positions that we had initially requested, and quite frankly, still feel like are valuable to our school division, simply won’t make the budget based on the dollar amounts,” he said.
Cuts among additional requested positions included the removal of elementary teacher assistance for behavior support, expansion of the Restorative Center, gifted resource teachers, additional special education aides for self-contained classrooms and central support positions.
“Quite frankly, this was a difficult recommendation for administration to bring forward for the board’s consideration. I think that we have, over the course of the last 2 1/2 or three months, clearly articulated the need for these positions. Specifically for our elementary school students and staff in elementary schools who are, on a daily basis, working with students who have behavioral support needs, which was part of the rationale for adding in those nine behavior support positions,” said Keever. “Additionally, we believe in alternative education opportunities, non-traditional education opportunities for our students, and not being able to fully take advantage of the Restorative Center is not ideal.”
“And, in the third place, I want to mention that some of our students need additional enrichment and acceleration, which is part of the rationale for the inclusion of the gifted resource teachers,” he added. “As we discussed this internally, it was a challenge, and I want to be clear with the board and our community that we believe that these positions continue to be necessary for the organization, but in a scenario where it was there was a need to reduce the request, we placed the emphasis on compensation and the staff that are currently in place.”
Board member Kimberley Hundley said in all her years in education, she had never seen a budget “this bleak.”
“I think when we were introduced to it, I actually stopped breathing for a minute when I saw the cross throughs and the red, red, and all I could think about is, when we cut, we will bleed,” she said. “I hope … the general public watches this, sees this, and can’t breathe as well.”
Acknowledging the importance of compensation, Hundley emphasized that the staffing requests were not wants, but needs, adding, “I have never seen anything like this, and I hope the public is outraged in a good way, and they fight for what we need for students to be successful academically.”
WJCC School Board Chair Sarah Ortego stressed that school leadership remains in conversation with both James City County and the City of Williamsburg, having talked as recently as the morning of the meeting. While admitting there were “some tricky dynamics” tied to the joint operating contract negotiations to work through, the schools and their funding partners were working toward a solution.
“We acknowledge as a board that this was a particularly large ask. We’ve had large asks in recent years with significant raises, but this was another level,” said Ortego, citing the study that led leadership to focus on bringing compensation in line with regional competitors. However, she also noted behavior, especially at the elementary level, was significantly inhibiting learning. “So, it’s not always just giving teachers a raise. Sometimes, you have to put another body in a classroom so that someone can take care of two or three kids that may be being disruptive and learning can continue.”
Watch the meeting in its entirety online. Read more about the budgeting process here.
