King George County Administrator's Proposed Budget Includes No New Funding for Schools
But budget proposed this week is "a starting point," he said.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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King George County Administrator Matthew Smolnik this week presented a budget for next fiscal year that includes no tax increase, no new county staff positions, and no new funding for the school division.
But he noted that the budget presented at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting is “a starting point.”
“Everything is on the table,” Smolnik said—and both Chair William Davis and Shiloh district representative Cathy Binder expressed an interest in including new funding in the budget to help the school division address staff salary compression.
The initial proposed $137.2 million county budget for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1, maintains the real estate tax rate of $0.68 per $100 of assessed value.
Smolnik presented a chart showing that King George’s tax rate is the lowest in Planning District 16, which includes Fredericksburg City and the counties of Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline, and King George.
Smolnik said that it’s “nice” to be at the low end, but then questioned, “Do we provide the services needed for our citizens?”
The county administrator’s initial budget provides $25.4 million in local funding for the school division—the same amount as the current fiscal year.
The School Board’s budget, presented in January and approved last month by the Board, was built on $29.2 million in local funding, a gap of $4.1 million.
According to superintendent Jesse Boyd’s budget presentation, that additional funding would cover a 3% salary increase for staff at a cost of $1.9 million; $436,571 to address salary compression at 5 and 10 years of service; $1.1 million for a health insurance premium increase; $1.5 million for new equipment, supplies, and services, and to address inflation; and $982,697 for new staff positions to accomodate “increased enrollment and needs.”
The division is requesting two reading teachers, one English language teacher, and four paraprofessionals at the elementary level; one middle school instructional coach; and three full time teachers at the high school level, as well as one virtual instruction coordinator and one attendance intervention specialist at the division level.
Davis said at Tuesday’s meeting that he would push for funding to mitigate the salary compression issues, and Binder also said the compression is “a vital piece that needs to be fixed.”
Every additional penny on the real estate tax rate in King George brings in $408,914, and a 3-cent tax increase would bring in $1.2 million in new funding, Smolnik said.
According to Boyd’s budget presentation from January, King George ranks 106th out of Virginia’s 132 public school divisions in terms of its annual per pupil spending. The county ranks 50th in terms of adjusted gross income and 55th in terms of the true value of real property.
The Board of Supervisors will continue to work on the budget during an upcoming retreat.
Boyd said in a statement provided to the Advance that he and his staff are “actively working alongside our Board of Supervisors and the County Administrator to craft a budget that addresses the needs of both our school division and the county.”
“This collaborative partnership reflects our shared commitment to making thoughtful decisions that will benefit our community, our students, and our staff,” Boyd said.
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