Local governments, school district talk numbers

Financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic seem to be front and center in today’s economic and political arenas.

And public bodies are addressing the issue collectively.

In the Historic Triangle, the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools, the Williamsburg City Council and the James City County Board of Supervisors discussed Monday the financial impact of the coronavirus on the local governments and the school district as a whole.

James Regimbal, principal of Fiscal Analytics, reviewed the financial records of the localities and the school district over the years from real estate taxes, median household income and Zillow home value indexes to other comparisons such as the cost spent per student in the district, the number of students who receive reduced lunches and the percentage of students who are considered homeless.

Here’s a slideshow he presented with a breakdown of Williamsburg, James City County and the school district compared to state numbers.

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Regimbal’s summary:

• Local revenue growth has not kept up with population and inflation.
• James City County and Williamsburg have raised property taxes but less than average.
• James City County and Williamsburg have higher real estate values compared to other localities like Hampton and Newport News.
• James City County real estate tax rates are “slightly higher” while Williamsburg are “significantly below” nearby localities.
• State funding from WJCC has “significantly lagged” funding increase.
• Williamsburg sales tax, income and property values have been falling.
• James City County exceeds local match requirements.
• WJCC teacher salary increase have “underperformed the region and state average increases since 2009”.
• WJCC has fewer free lunch students but one percent more students with disabilities compared to the state average and three times the state average of homeless students.
• You can watch the entire meeting below.

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