Following a brief public hearing Tuesday night, the Mathews County School Board opted to make no significant changes to its draft 2020-2021 budget.

The school board will sit down with county supervisors this coming Tuesday to discuss their proposal during a joint dinner meeting at Thomas Hunter Middle School.

Only three speakers addressed the school board during Tuesday’s budget public hearing, with that portion of the meeting, which was held in the Mathews High School media center, lasting just about 15 minutes. For the remainder of the hour, school board members discussed the budget and specific items that are top priorities.

The $16.72 million budget, based on an enrollment of 1,000 students, would require $10,096,920 in county funds, an increase of slightly over $1 million from its current contribution. The budget includes a 5 percent raise (plus step) for all employees, money to set up a pre-K program for 4-year-olds, roughly $225,000 to offset an estimated 8 percent incr...