In recent years, Caroline County Public Schools increased its pay scale for teachers in an attempt to become competitive with regional competition.
But Superintendent Sarah Calveric said there was just one problem — as Caroline increased pay, other school divisions did as well.
During a fiscal year 2027 budget presentation to the county’s board of supervisors on Tuesday, Calveric noted that after a rise to the middle of the pack or above, Caroline now ranks 13th out of 20 regional localities in first-year teacher pay, 14th out of 20 for fifth-year educators; and 15th out of 20 for teachers with 20 years of experience. The county ranks last out of five other neighboring divisions — Fredericksburg, Hanover, King George, Spotsylvania, and Stafford — in compensation for custodians and paraprofessionals.
So, the division is seeking an additional $3.8 million, a 5.8% increase, from the current $65.3 million budget.
The total request for FY27 is $69.1 million. School officials are expecting at least $2 million from the state, which would leave a $1.8 million shortfall in local funding from the board of supervisors.
“The CCPS budget development process is intentional, inclusive, transparent, and considers various internal and external factors,” School Board Chair Lydell Fortune said.
Calveric said she’s optimistic the state will provide more funding, but, if the gap stands, it would require a .05 cent increase to the current real estate tax rate, which would add nearly 10% to residents’ real estate tax bills, Mattaponi District Supervisor Floyd Thomas said.
“If your bill is $1,000 now, it would be $1,100,” Thomas said. “This is just for perspective. Additional business revenue, final state revenue numbers, county budget numbers and one, if not two public hearings, will all be factored in to reach the final budget numbers.”
Thomas noted that the county’s contribution to the school division’s budget would approach $21 million if approved as presented.
Calveric noted that than more than 700 stakeholders participated in budget survey and staff emerged with 30 requests that were each aligned with the division’s five-year strategic plan called “Achieve 2027.” The requests were placed into a category of mandatory, critical need, need, or a want. The top six priorities are grouped as compensation, special education, general education, literacy initiatives, Career and Technical Education, and standalone requests.
The division is seeking a behavioral support specialist for Madison Elementary School; currently any students who require one must attend Lewis & Clark Elementary or Bowling Green Elementary.
A request for a $1.7 million increase in contracted services is primarily for rising costs associated with speech therapy, occupational therapy, deaf students, mobility services, the visibly impaired and those needing skilled nursing, school officials said. Bowling Green Elementary has the county’s largest population of students with disabilities (167).
The division is seeking a reading specialist at BGE and Caroline Middle, as well as operational funds for an elementary teacher for Lotus Academy, the county’s alternative school. That position is currently supported by funds from the state that are set to expire.
On the transportation side, the division is requesting $260,000 to modernize the bus routing and fleet management system. School officials noted that the current system doesn’t pick up new subdivisions in the county, leading to lapses in communication.
“A modern system would allow parents and students to have an app to see real-time bus arrival and drop-off information, ultimately improving communication and convenience,” Calveric said.
County Administrator Charles Culley will present his budget to the board of supervisors on March 10.
In other business at Tuesday’s board of supervisors meeting, a public hearing on a proposed 95-acre data center in the county was deferred. The board recognized longtime Parks and Recreation Director Donnell Howard, who retired after 36 years. It also viewed and lauded a documentary from the Caroline Sunday School Union entitled “Sacrifice to Legacy” that chronicled the development of the educational system for Black students in the county.
