Today, I presented my proposed fiscal year 2026 budget to the School Board. This budget addresses essential needs to support student success and maintain high-quality education. Additional money is needed to fully fund this budget, and the proposal outlines the critical needs of our school division that are currently not funded.
Additional details, including town hall meeting dates, can be found on oneccps.org.
The information presented today to the School Board may be found on BoardDocs.
My proposed budget would fund our operational costs for the 2025-26 school year while providing the needed resources to meet our many state requirements and guidelines, meet community expectations and retain a high-quality workforce.
The proposed budget includes an additional $25.6 million investment compared to fiscal year 2025, with $20.2 million for workforce investment and $5.4 million for required cost increases. The additional $25.6 million investment includes an additional $12 million in state revenue and $13 million in additional county and local funding.
In the spirit of new school safety initiatives, I want to acknowledge that funding is not included in this budget regarding weapons detection systems. We have completed demonstrations for two weapons detection systems, and we continue through the evaluative and planning process. This includes operational logistics as well as identifying funding. We will continue to share any updates on this process.
We are grateful for our collaboration with Chesterfield County and the state and look forward to ongoing discussions and support in the weeks ahead.
I hope you will take time to review the proposed budget, attend meetings and express your support for educational funding with local and state leaders. Each of us has the ability to be part of this very important process and make a positive impact for Chesterfield County Public Schools.
Respectfully,
Dr. John Murray
Superintendent
Chesterfield County Public Schools