Sitting across from one another at a pair of tables at Thomas Hunter Middle School on Tuesday night, the Mathews County School Board and Mathews Board of Supervisors hold a work session on the school division’s draft 2024-2025 budget.

The mood, however, was not confrontational, as members of the two boards seemed to find common ground, agreeing in principle on the need to support teacher raises in order to attract and retain classroom professionals while competing with neighboring school divisions.

The school board is expected to adopt its draft budget when it returns to the Brooks Auditorium at TMHS for its next regular monthly meeting, which will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 20, beginning at 6 p.m. Afterwards, the adopted budget will be delivered to County Administrator Ramona Wilson and supervisors will begin their deliberations on the request as a part of the overall county budget.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. David S. Daniel began the meeting, providing an overview of numer...