By Isabel Lewis, contributor
Harrisonburg City Public Schools proposed budget for 2026-27 calls for staff raises, increased special education instructional faculty and more financial support for career and technical training using a bump in funding from the state.
The district’s funding from Virginia is increasing to $76 million, an increase of about $6 million from last year. This comes as a relief to school board Chair Tim Howley, who said that in the past 10 months, his fear of losing federal funding has kept him up at night, unsure of how the school system would operate if the U.S. Department of Education was shuttered.
Howley credited community members speaking out about their concerns about proposals to dissolve the education department, including JMU education students who demonstrated outside of Memorial Hall last March.
“It’s really important when we see things that are going to impact us and impact the daily lives of over 6,000 students in our city,” Howley said.
The state funding increase includes a 2% salary increase for state-funded positions, such as teachers and counselors. City school leaders aim to raise salaries in accordance with inflation, using a benchmark rate of a 3% increase, according to the budget draft. This means that 2% of an employee’s salary raise will be funded through the state, and any additional salary increase will be funded locally.
Superintendent Michael Richards emphasized the need for a progressive salary increase program rather than a regressive one, explaining that a simple 3% increase would widen the wealth gap between the highest- and lowest-earning employees. Richards plans to accommodate this using a progressive salary increase, emphasizing that the use of a “3% salary increase” is only a placeholder for the moment.
A concern of the school board is the need for an increased number of state-funded employees, or Standards of Quality (SOQ’s). The governor and General Assembly supply the school district with a certain amount of funding to be allocated towards these roles. Richards said Virginia funds about half of the school’s employees, while the other half of the employees’ salaries are funded locally. The proposed budget currently includes the creation of eight new SOQ roles and 12 new Special Education Continuum teachers and assistants.
HCPS is looking to recruit new staff from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Additionally, the school system hopes to exceed the Standards of Quality staff-to-student ratios.
“We want to emphasize the need for a diverse workforce,” Richards said. “The state says you need a certain number of a certain kind of teacher to have a high-quality system. We say you need a lot more than that.”
This year, HCPS has received additional state funding because of its low rating in the Local Composite Index, a calculation made biannually to measure a community’s relative ability to financially support K-12 costs. The goal behind the formula is to equalize education opportunities and allow students in all Virginia zip codes to receive an adequate education, Richards said.
The school board intends to increase special education instructional faculty, but indicated issues with recruitment and retention of quality staff for these positions, saying there is not an adequate pool of applicants currently for these positions.
Spotswood Elementary Special Education Instructional Assistant Ivan Christo said his salary is barely enough to live on and called for a salary raise for instructional assistants.
“My rent goes up every year, and the salary does not go up to match it, or barely does,” Christo said.
Christo said that he receives an approximate salary of $29,000 annually, which he said works out to be about $1,700 per month after taxes. After he pays his rent, utilities and other required expenses on the first day of the month, he said he has about $250 left.
“I don’t have much to live on for the rest of the month,” Christo said. “So what do we have that I can’t pay, that the salary doesn’t afford me? Auto emergencies, car payments, additional co-pays for medical emergencies, procedures, MRIs, X-rays, appointments, home repairs and all sorts of other life emergencies and unforeseen circumstances.”
Another instructional assistant told the board that her position required several duties that were not in her job description, which she was not getting compensated for. She said that she received a salary of $24,000 while doing the jobs of a “school nurse, a language pathologist, a language pathologist assistant, a counselor, a teacher and a case manager” and detailed her tasks which aligned with each job, such as changing diapers and modeling how to use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices.
Additionally, the proposed budget for 2027 includes one more year of contributing to the funding of programs with the Massanutten Technical Center and aims to increase funding for CTE programs through Blue Ridge Community College.
The budget will also continue to maintain strong infrastructure, school resources and facilities upkeep, Richards said.
Public commentary for the Fiscal Year 2027 Superintendents’ Proposed Budget is open during the school board’s work session at 5:30 p.m. March 17 at Waterman Elementary. Once the school board signs on a proposed budget, it goes to the city council as part of the city’s 2026-27 budget.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting
- The Youth Art Month Exhibit will open with a reception at Valley Mall on Saturday from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., and the exhibit will remain on display until May 1.
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