The Roanoke City Council will vote Tuesday on another school funding policy, marking the third change to the policy in two years.
The policy outlines the calculation of local funds that Roanoke City Public Schools will receive from the city each year, but, as is stated in the policy document, it is “neither a law nor a contractual agreement. Rather, it is a statement of intent.”
The policy states that the city will fund RCPS annually, starting at a baseline of what the division received the year before. Then, if the city brings in more tax revenue than budgeted, the division would receive 34% of that excess revenue — or, if the city comes up short on revenue for that year, the schools would return 34% of that shortfall. The next year, the division’s new baseline funding would be equal to its final allocation from the previous year.
This year, RCPS received $106.9 million, which is equal to what it received the previous year. The new policy would go into effect with fiscal year 2026-2027.
The policy also states that funds not spent by the schools in the prior fiscal year must be returned to the city. RCPS can then request that the council reappropriate some or all of those unspent funds for the schools’ use.
The previous version of the policy stated that the schools would receive up to 40% of budgeted tax revenue each year.
On Tuesday, the council will also consider reappropriating $4.3 million to RCPS to be used on modular classroom spaces, or trailers, at Patrick Henry and William Fleming high schools. The modular classrooms will act as a short-term solution to overcrowding at both schools until a more permanent solution can be found.
The reappropriated funds come from both the available true-up funds for fiscal year 2024-2025 and the schools’ balance from the unspent capital fund balance.
The school board had originally requested $8.3 million from the city for this purpose, which was approved during a school board special meeting Oct. 28. A Jan. 15 letter from the school board to the city council states the earliest projected occupancy of the trailers at this point is summer 2027.
Tuesday’s 2 p.m. session and 7 p.m. public hearing will be held in the city council chamber, at 215 Church Ave. S.W. Those interested in seeing the full agenda for Tuesday’s meeting can find it here. Roanoke City Council meetings are livestreamed on YouTube for those who cannot attend in person.