Gloucester County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Anthony Vladu presented his recommended budget for fiscal year 2027 in the amount of $83,502,799 to the Gloucester County School Board Tuesday night in the T.C. Walker Education Center auditorium. This is a 1.9 percent budget increase from FY26, which is equivalent to more than $1.5 million.
“This is a very rigorous process that we start back in October,” said Vladu.
The budget will be built on an average daily membership of 4,454 students, which is a decrease of more than 100 students compared to FY26. “ADM is critical to funding a district,” he said.
From FY19 to FY26, the district lost about 600 students. “That’s an entire elementary school,” said Vladu.
Decrease in enrollment means that the school district has to proportionally adjust its staffing. Twenty students lost is equivalent to about one full-time teaching position, according to Standards of Quality measures provided by the state. However, this is not always a simple process.
“They don’t come from the same school,” said Vladu about students who leave the district. “They don’t come from the same grade level.”
In his presentation, he focused heavily on new strategic investments for the district.
“The total additional resources we have for FY27 is $1.152 million,” said Vladu. This funding will come from the state allocation, savings in staffing attrition and a rate decrease in the Virginia Retirement System.
In five strategic investment categories, Vladu has recommended the following:
—Instruction & Academic Achievement: student Chromebook replacement ($393,960), curriculum and materials for new courses ($10,000), Middle Peninsula Regional Special Education Program increase ($76,965), increased contract days for career and technical education (CTE) instructors ($15,957), CTE testing and equipment ($60,000), teacher coach position ($106,953) and staff development and training ($12,500) for $653,784;
—Strengthening Community Connections: middle school volleyball ($22,284) and middle school cross country ($8,280) for $30,564;
—Efficiency of Operations, Fiscal Responsibility, Transportation, and Human Resources: 2 percent compensation increase for staff ($1,099,329), 10 percent compensation increase for supplement positions ($36,168), health insurance increase ($1,481,512), signage at Page Middle School and the Transportation Department ($80,000), John Deere wide-area mower replacement ($70,000), floor care equipment replacement ($42,000), transportation parts increases ($104,788), other contract/utility increases ($295,886) and grantwriter position ($88,159) for $3,297,842;
—Safe Schools and Secure Transportation: safety alert and notification system ($47,500) and school security weapon detection enhancements ($25,000) for $72,500); and,
—Promoting Mental Health & Wellness: continued contract with Care Solace, a mental health care coordination service ($20,000).
The total expenditure for the strategic investments amounts to $4,074,690, creating a budget gap of $2,922,661.
“To fund the superintendent’s recommended budget would require an increased local contribution of $2,922,661,” said school board member Troy Andersen. “So, to get there, we would have to ask the Board of Supervisors in our local contribution for that delta.”
During school board budget discussion, member Carlton Drew asked about the benefits of adding a grantwriter position. “Do we know how much money we’re leaving on the table by not having someone looking at every type of grant we can receive,” asked Drew.
“Those grants are out there, but it takes a tremendous amount of work to write them, to keep up with them, to establish those goals,” said Vladu. “So, I can’t give you an exact amount, but I can tell you it would be a 10-to-1 gain over whatever we would invest in that position and what we receive back.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, Vladu emphasized the monumental increases in prices for transportation parts compared to last year, with increases ranging from 13 to 99 percent. “The average increase is more than 35 percent,” he said.
In next steps, the school board will hold its budget public hearing on March 10, submit its budget to the county by April 1 and plans to adopt its final operating budget on May 12.