Williamsburg-James City County school board members voiced approval for pay raises and new hires that could add about $9 million to next year’s school budget.
Superintendent Daniel Keever walked the board through proposed pay raises, plus the cost of hiring 21 new staff, at their second budget work session Tuesday evening.
He acknowledged raising costs and hiring staff is tough when “our enrollment is remaining flat or has decreased. We get it, I get it.”
Student enrollment has dropped by several hundred students since 2024, to a projected 11,146 for this school year.
Preliminary budget estimates show local and state contributions will increase by 6% for the next fiscal year, to $200.5 million.
The school system has raised staff pay by 25% since 2021. But a compensation study comparing salaries in York, New Kent and Gloucester counties as well as Hampton and Newport News showed local teachers ranked near the bottom in compensation.
If the schools implement t…