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Pay Raises Plus Insurance Equals Higher Costs
Rockbridge County school leaders are facing several major challenges as they prepare a budget for the fiscal year 2026. That’s what they told the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors at a joint meeting with the School Board last Thursday.
The meeting was among the first to be held in the community room at the brand new Innovation Center at Rockbridge County High School, which houses career and technical education, and which was completed on schedule just last month.
The chief business officer for Rockbridge County Schools, Jason Kirby presented the budget estimates in the place of Superintendent Phillip Thompson, who was out sick. Kirby noted that these projections rely on current data from the governor’s amended biennial budget and remain subject to change as state budget discussions and health insurance rates evolve.
Unless those factors show significant changes, the school division is anticipating asking for an increase of $997,375 in local funding to cover numerous costs, which almost universally continue to rise.
The most significant costs driving the increase are a 5% salary raise for staff, projected to cost $1,404,276, and health care insurance, which is estimated to rise by 19%, adding $708,087 to the budget.
Other increased costs include worker’s compensation, increasing by $14,900; property and casualty insurance, increasing by $5,215; and inflation on nonpersonnel costs estimated at $74,482, for items like fuel, technology, and vendor services.
These increases total $2,206,960. However, savings from attrition, Virginia Retirement System adjustments, and other budget cuts, combined with an expected $483,043 increase in state funding, are estimated to bring the net additional local funding needed to $997,375.
While discussing the planned raise, school officials emphasized the importance of offering competitive salaries to attract and retain staff. Rockbridge County teachers, particularly those with higher levels of experience, currently receive smaller raises compared to neighboring districts. The state has proposed a 3% salary increase, but Rockbridge County aims for a 5% raise to better compete with surrounding divisions.
“Each year that we cannot maintain pace with teacher and staff pay, we will fall further behind,” Kirby noted, adding that burnout and increased workloads have compounded the challenges of retaining highly qualified educators.
The district switched to Local Choice insurance for the 2024-25 school year and has been satisfied with the program’s performance. However, the estimated 19% increase in health care costs for FY26 remains a concern. Kirby said that those numbers are not exact; final rate information is expected in February, and efforts to explore options for cost control are ongoing.
Inflation on services and materials, such as fuel, technology, and maintenance supplies, also continues to strain the budget. “We have worked to control these costs for several years now, but it is becoming increasingly difficult,” Kirby said.
Compounding the budget challenges is an increase in the Local Composite Index (LCI), which measures a locality’s ability to pay for education. Rockbridge County’s higher LCI for FY24-26 reduces the percentage of state funding the school district receives. Additionally, the district projects an Average Daily Membership (ADM) of 2,200 students for FY26, slightly below the state’s projection of 2,231.
State funding for FY26 is tied to a 3% raise for staff. If the district cannot meet that raise, revenues will decrease proportionally.
Kirby stressed that the current estimates are subject to changes based on state budget amendments and updated health insurance rates, with more clarity expected in February.
