25-03-2025
With lower raises than planned, Augusta County Schools approves 2025-26 budget
VERONA — The Augusta County School Board approved a $151.9 million balanced budget at its regular business meeting Thursday, March 20.
The budget includes a 3% raise for all staff and a 7% raise for bus drivers, both lower than the board had hoped for but necessary to balance the expenses to projected revenue.
In a work session before the regular meeting Thursday, Superintendent Eric Bond told board members that they are still waiting for Gov. Glenn Youngkin to approve the budget sent to him by the General Assembly. Bond said in putting together the school budget, staff used projected state revenue from the General Assembly's budget of $91.2 million. That number is based off an average daily membership of 9,500 students in Augusta County.
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On Monday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin made more than 200 budget amendments and vetoed eight budget items. The General Assembly now will take up the governor's vetoes and amendments when it returns to Richmond next week.
The revenue for Augusta County Public Schools also includes a projected $53.99 million in local appropriations from the Board of Supervisors. That accounts for approximately 35.5% of the revenues.
At the beginning of the night, expenditures exceeded revenue by $3.7 million. During a work session, the cuts to expenditures included numerous items that were on the board's wish list but hadn't yet been implemented.
"We tried to touch things we don't have now," Bond told the board.
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That included eliminating additional coaching and transportation department stipends and 10 new staffing positions. No cuts will be made to existing staff positions. The board also eliminated a reorganization of the support staff salary scales. Bond said the hope was to make those salaries more competitive, and staff would still like to do that in a future budget.
Reducing staff raises from a 4% to 3% raise, and bus driver raises from 15% to 7%, helped reduce expenditures also, enabling the board to pass a balanced budget.
The 3% raise equals what Waynesboro Public Schools approved. Staunton has yet to pass its budget, but in a presentation at its March meeting the division is planning a 4% raise for staff with an additional 1% for teachers with 20 or more years of service.
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— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Connect with Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@ and on Instagram @hitepatrick. Subscribe to us at
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Augusta County School Board balances budget with lower raises than planned
