Isle of Wight school board focuses on pay increases, defers bus purchases amid state funding uncertainty

The Isle of Wight County School Board on Wednesday continued work on the superintendent’s proposed operating budget, emphasizing plans to prioritize pay increases and benefits for employees while postponing some capital purchases, including new buses.

Superintendent (role on the record) told the board that although the division still needs additional buses and other capital items, those purchases were not included in the current operating budget because the board decided to prioritize employee compensation and health insurance. “We have known that we need additional buses … [but] we elected to not put the additional buses that we need for this year because we know that the compensation of our employees takes precedent,” the superintendent said.

Board members praised the finance staff for a 0-based review that they said trimmed waste and produced savings. One board member credited CFO Deveri and staff with “somewhere in the tune of $200,000 plus dollars” in savings after cleaning up the budget. CFO Deveri also addressed a line item the board had labeled “undefined,” explaining it represented program-based presentations that include transportation, attendant and health services and other non-instructional functions.

CFO Deveri said the items shown as “undefined” on the budget book reflect program groupings and recommended the board consult the following pages for a detailed breakout. She described the transportation complement as 59 full-time equivalents and said another 36 FTEs represent attendant and health services; the budget book page the board flagged lists 103.05 FTEs and $16,000,847.02 in that program grouping.

Board members spent substantial time on a recently completed compensation study. One member said the division is asking for roughly “7 point some odd million dollars” in year-to-year increases; staff warned that phasing in pay raises over multiple years risks worsening recruitment and retention because the division is currently not competitive with the market. “If you continue that and try to phase it in … you are going to make the situation worse,” a staff member said.

Deputy of Instruction Miss Getz addressed concerns about counselors and Section 504 case management, describing how the division hired school testing facilitators (STFs) to take on testing-related tasks and to relieve counselors. Miss Getz said many schools still have too many 504 plans for one person to manage and that staff will meet with counselors to rebalance workloads and reduce paperwork so counselors can focus on higher‑impact student support.

Board members and staff also discussed uncertainty in Richmond over state compensation decisions. Staff outlined competing proposals at the state level — including differing pay increase percentages and proposals for a one‑time bonus — and noted a reported one-time flexible fund (described in the session as about $400 million statewide) could not be used for ongoing operating needs and may require a local match.

On timing, the superintendent said the board must adopt its budget before the end of the month and submit it to the county; a joint meeting with county officials was scheduled for March 19, though the board could vote at its regular meeting next week if there are no major changes. The meeting adjourned without additional formal votes on the operating budget.

The board took one formal action early in the session: members moved and seconded approval of the meeting agenda; roll-call votes recorded Mister Wooster, Mister Marsh and Mister Ford as voting yes and the motion passed.