In addition to discussions about borrowing for a proposed recreation center, Rockbridge County school officials used a joint meeting with the Board of Supervisors last week to preview key budget pressures heading into the FY 2026-2027 budget cycle.
Superintendent Phillip Thompson said the division continues to face rising costs in employee compensation, health insurance and nonpersonnel expenses, even as student enrollment slowly declines.
“Our priorities haven’t changed,” Thompson said. “Employee salaries, health insurance, and the rising cost of doing business are front and center.”
The school division’s most recent average daily membership (ADM) count, taken Sept. 30, 2025, stands at 2,176 students, continuing a gradual downward trend.
According to projections from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, enrollment is expected to decline further before bottoming out later this decade. “We’ve known this was coming,” Thompson said. “Historically, our population follows a roller-coaster pattern every 10 to 20 years.”
Officials also discussed the Local Composite Index (LCI), a state formula used to determine how much local governments are expected to contribute to public education. Rockbridge County’s LCI is projected to decline slightly in the next biennium to 0.4829, which Thompson described as modestly positive news.
“It’s almost a wash,” he said. “We’re not gaining a ton, but we’re not losing ground.”
Despite that decrease, Rockbridge County remains ranked 35th highest statewide in its perceived ability to fund education locally, a ranking Thompson said does not reflect the county’s economic reality. “It’s unfortunate, and I don’t agree with it,” he said. “But I don’t get to make the rules.”
Thompson added that efforts to reform the LCI at the state level have seen limited progress “There are winners and losers,” he said. “And that makes it politically difficult.”
School officials emphasized growing difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff, particularly classified employees such as custodians, cafeteria workers and teacher assistants.
“We see signs all over Rockbridge County advertising $17 or $18 an hour,” Thompson said. “We got to $15 an hour a year or so ago, but that’s not going to be enough.”
Health insurance remains another major concern, with early projections indicating a potential 13.8% increase, though officials cautioned that final numbers are not yet available.
“Some years we do really well,” Thompson said. “Some years we don’t. I’m not offering any guarantees.”
Nonpersonnel expenses, from vendor contracts to classroom supplies, are also rising after years of being absorbed within existing budgets.
“We’re just at a point now where we can’t eat those costs anymore,” Thompson said.
Officials also provided updates on several ongoing and planned school projects. Baseball and softball field lighting infrastructure work is underway. A new turf field contract has been signed; with officials emphasizing the material contains no PFAS chemicals.
Meanwhile, on the part of the proposed recreation center, design work is expected to begin soon; safety improvements near Greenhouse Road are being discussed with VDOT; and additional pedestrian lighting is being explored to reduce light pollution.
The boards will continue budget discussions throughout the spring, with a public hearing on the county budget tentatively scheduled for late April and final adoption planned for early May.
