Charles City School Board approves $8.9 million budget for FY2026-27

Charles City’s School Board approved an $8.9 million budget for the FY2026-27 school year.

School board members voted 4-0 to approve the budget and send it to county leaders for consideration and adoption at the Feb. 17 meeting. At-large member Royce Paige was not present at the meeting.

Otey’s budget proposal is centered around compensating teachers and support services. Among those services include two part-time math interventionists at each school ($74,604), a part-time reading interventionist ($74,604), in-school instructional coaches for teacher support ($161,464), an additional math teacher at each school at ($84,874), and stipends for teachers writing curriculum ($34,448).

Otey’s budget also considers a 10-percent staff salary increase. The superintendent cited in past meetings that Charles City falls well behind neighboring divisions in attracting and teacher retention due to the salary.

In total, new requests pan out to $1,747,720, which Otey said are needed for strategic growth. The school is currently operating on a budget of $7,201,636 for the current year.

Capital Improvement Projects recommended for the school system include the purchase of a new school bus ($160,000), replacement of carpet at the elementary school ($63,173), a seven-passenger van ($40,000), and another school car for transportation ($30,000).