The Orange County School Board has approved its fiscal year 2026 budget.
The budget is one that aims to take care of those who take care of the students and includes several new positions and pay increases. New positions include a first grade teacher and reading specialist at Locust Grove Primary School, with a shared counselor between the primary and Locust Grove Elementary School, as well as a special education teacher and two special education instructional assistants at the latter. A new special education teacher and two special education instructional assistants are included for Unionville Elementary School with new English Language Learner (ELL) teachers at Prospect Heights and Locust Grove middle schools and Orange County High School. The high school is also in need of a video/media broadcasting teacher and a criminal justice teacher to grow the career and technical education offerings in those areas and a reading specialist. A school psychologist is needed division-wide which would eliminate costs associated with contracting those services.
To increase safety, Dr. Daniel Hornick’s budget includes school security officers, which unlike School Resource Officers are non-armed personnel not through the local sheriff’s office, at both middle schools and the high school. He said the middle school positions will be contingent upon receiving grant funding. The budget also includes stipends at both middle schools for volleyball and boys and girls soccer coaches. Four bus drivers and a bus monitor are also needed. Hornick said three of the drivers are needed to keep up with ever-expanding special education needs, while the fourth is due to growth occurring at the eastern end of the county.
Also included in the budget is the absorption of any health insurance increase for employees (estimated at 15%), as well as any dental insurance increase (estimated at 5%). The budget includes an enhancement to the teacher pay scale, totaling $3.7 million, plus adjustments to the pay scales for instructional assistants ($560,000), custodian and head custodians ($165,000) and secretaries along with moving registrars to 12-month contracts ($235,000). A 3% raise is included for all other full-time employees ($540,000).
Some other items marked for increased funding in the budget include athletic stipends; costs associated with the student academy program at the University of Mary Washington; professional development; hearing officer support; additional occupational and physical therapy funding; keeping on the renewal cycle for student Chromebooks and teacher laptops; speech pathologist services and custodial supplies.
Also included in the budget is $6.1 million in capital projects including $3.5 million for the planning and building of a career and technical education center.
The $93.2 million budget, of which $77.5 million is in the operating fund, is factored using
4,814.95 students. A previous request of new local funding for the general fund was decreased from $6.8 million to $5.9 million. The change is the result of an increase in state funding from the previous estimates. The total budget, all funds combined, requests $38.2 million in local funding, an increase of $11 million over the current year. State funding has increased by $2.1 million over the current year ($41.1 million to $43.2 million) and federal funds by $187,192 ($8.1 million to $8.3 million).
District 2 school board member Darlene Dawson voiced her support for the budget.
“We can’t continue to be the developmental league for the counties around us,” she said. “The teachers deserve [this budget], the students deserve it. I’d like to see it go forward.”
District 3 board member Jack Rickett agreed.
“We can’t continue in this vicious cycle of 20 new teachers every year,” he said. “To our teachers, hang in there; we’re fighting for you; we appreciate you.”
The budget was approved 4-0. District 4 school board member Chelsea Quintern, who resigned via letter later in the meeting, was absent.
The county was expected to begin its budget worksession process this week.
