ROANOKE, Va. – Parents gathered for an emergency PTA meeting to talk about a $16.5 million deficit Roanoke City Public Schools is currently facing Thursday night.
This comes after Roanoke City Council changed its school funding formula, which reduced the school’s share of local tax revenue from 40% to 34%. The deficit could lead to widespread cuts across the district.
Parents spoke out about their concerns at the meeting on Thursday.
“You just trust that local officials... that everyone’s doing the best that they can. And I do believe that, but you then find out that things are not going as smoothly as you thought,” Jewel Aggaard, Grandin Court Elementary School PTA President, said.
“It is a moment to say let’s get involved, because if we don’t, things might continue to get worse. So let’s all work together, let’s make sure we’re staying informed so that we can hold people accountable and stay informed and communicate clearly to the people who are going to be affected by these changes,” Aggaard said.
This comes as the Roanoke City School Board is working to finalize its 2026 to 2027 budget. That deadline is set for March 10.
This is a partial statement that 10 News received from the City of Roanoke:
Funding to RCPS was not reduced. Based on the current revenue estimate for FY 2026-2027, RCPS will receive $751,114 in additional revenue on top of its $106.9 million allocation, for a total of $107.7 million.
The revision to the School Funding Policy which changed the allocation from 40% to 34% was not a reduction in the actual funding allocated to RCPS. RCPS will still receive a share of the growth in adjusted local taxes. The incremental growth will be at a lower rate.
The RCPS budget allocation ($106.9 million) is based on anticipated local tax revenue. The additional funding allocation ($751,114) is dependent upon local tax revenue growth. Projected local tax revenue growth for FY 2026-2027 is significantly less than in prior years:
To mitigate the impact of RCPS’s level funding, City Council allowed RCPS to use $10.3 million from the RCPS General Fund Balance to facilitate balancing the current year budget and allow time to plan for the necessary budget adjustment in advance of FY 2027 budget development.
When Council level funded RCPS in the current year, it was not done with the intent to make up the additional funding, approximately $6.7 million, in a subsequent year. Any attempt to do so would require the City to make significant reductions beyond what is currently required to balance the budget. More specifically, providing RCPS with the additional $6.7 million that it did not receive this year, would require closing all library branches and additional budget reductions.
Over the past several months Council made the decision to reclaim unused funds from the RCPS General Fund Balance ($28.2 million) and Capital Project Fund Balance ($26.2 million) as allowed by State Code. City Council also funded the following:
§ $10.3 million of the General Fund Balance to stabilize RCPS’s current year budget.
§ $17.9 million from the Capital Project Fund Balance for identified capital projects in May 2025.
§ $2.1 million from the Capital Project Fund Balance and $2.2 million in FY 2024-2025 Year-End True Up Funds for learning cottages at both high schools.
City Council understands and recognizes the importance of a vibrant and high performing school division to the vitality of the City. However, RCPS is just one of the many competing priorities that the City must consider in addition to public safety, human services, infrastructure, and community development. Recent adjustments to the School Funding Policy focused on allowing the City more flexibility in addressing deferred priorities and the financial realities the City is experiencing.
City of Roanoke