The Williamsburg-James City County School Board made its pitch Friday for an extra $13.9 million in funding from local governments for the next fiscal year, saying it needed the money to make teacher pay more competitive and to help the growing number of students who don’t speak English or have other learning difficulties.
The $197.1 million proposed school budget for Fiscal Year 2026 is 9% higher than the current budget.
Although overall school enrollment has remained static at around 11,300 students, 35% of the students are now classified as economically disadvantaged, Acting Superintendent Daniel Keever told the James City County Board of Supervisors and the Williamsburg City Council at their joint meeting Friday.
The percentage of students who need help with English as a second language has grown by nearly half, to 9% of the school population, he added. The special education population has grown as well, he said.
Keever said state guidelines require more teachers to help those studen…