Fiscal Year 2026 Budget

The Fiscal Year 2026 budget will fund Chesterfield County Public Schools from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
On Jan. 23, Superintendent Dr. John Murray presented his proposed budget for FY 2026.
In January and February, the School Board held public budget work sessions and town halls.
On Feb. 27, the School board approved a $986.7 million dollar budget.
On June 3, the School board adopted a $1.07 billion balanced budget for fiscal year 2026.

Fiscal Year 2025

Fiscal Year 2024

The budget process

When the school board approves the FY26 budget, it is sent to the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors. They will go through a process that is similar to the process for schools:

In March, the county administrator presents the Board of Supervisors with a proposed budget.
The Board of Supervisors hold community meetings during March.
In April, the Board of Supervisors approve a county budget. This budget includes funding for schools.

When this work is complete, the county budget and schools budget cannot be finalized until the state passes its budget. After that occurs, amendments to the CCPS budget may be needed based on the final state budget. This usually happens before July 1.

Learn more about the Chesterfield County budget process

Adopted Budget

The School Board adopted a $1.07 billion balanced budget for fiscal year 2026 at its June 3 meeting. The budget funds operational costs for the 2025-26 school year while providing resources to meet state requirements, achieve community expectations and retain a high-quality workforce.

The adopted budget reflects an increase of $43.2 million over the 2024-25 fiscal year budget, and it is $17.2 million over the budget proposed in January by Superintendent John Murray because the state and county provided additional funding for public education. Priorities that were on the unfunded list in January are part of the adopted budget, including:

Student-facing needs

$9.7 million for special education support
$4 million for growth of the English language learners program
$100,000 for Communities In Schools expansion

Other needs

$1.2 million for fleet maintenance and fuel
$210,000 for other inflation
$577,000 for technology equipment
$582,000 for mega trailers

See all of the budget materials presented at the June 3 School Board meeting.

Approved Budget

At its Feb. 27 special meeting, the School Board approved a $986.7 million balanced operating budget for FY 2026. The proposed budget funds operational costs for the 2025-26 school year while providing the needed resources to meet our many state requirements and guidelines, meet community expectations and retain a high-quality workforce.

The approved budget reflects an increase of $17.2 million over the budget proposal made by Superintendent John Murray in January because, based on estimates approved by the General Assembly, additional funding is now expected from the state. Priorities that were previously on the unfunded list have been added to the approved budget, including:

Student-facing needs

$9.7 million for special education support
$4 million for ELL growth
$100,000 for Communities In Schools expansion

Other needs

$1.2 million for fleet maintenance and fuel
$210,000 for other inflation
$577,000 for technology equipment
$582,000 for mega trailers

Here is a list of all remaining unfunded priorities that will be considered if additional funding becomes available.

Budget Proposal

Superintendent Dr. John Murray presented his proposed budget for FY 2026 at 4 p.m. Jan. 23 in the Public Meeting Room (10001 Iron Bridge Road).

The budget addresses essential needs to support student success and maintain high-quality education. Additional money is needed to fully fund the budget, and the proposal outlines the critical needs of our school division that are currently not funded.

The proposed budget includes an additional $25.6 million investment compared to fiscal year 2025, with $20.2 million for workforce investment and $5.4 million for required cost increases. The additional $25.6 million investment includes an additional $12 million in state revenue and $13 million in additional county and local funding.

See the budget proposal overview in Spanish.

Fiscal year 2026 documents

Proposed budget overviews

Town hall presentations

Presentations to the School Board

Proposed budget presentations

Approved budget presentations

Additional documents

Public Meetings and Town Hall Events

Budget work sessions

The Chesterfield County School Board will hold public budget work sessions from 4-6 p.m. in the Public Meeting Room (10001 Iron Bridge Road) on the following dates:

Jan. 23, 2025
Feb. 4, 2025
Feb. 11, 2025 (includes public hearings)
Feb. 19, 2025

The Chesterfield County School Board will hold public hearings on the superintendent’s FY 2026 operating budget and the FY 2026-30 capital improvement plan at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 11 in the Public Meeting Room (10001 Iron Bridge Road, Chesterfield, VA 23832). The public hearings will take place before the start of the School Board’s regularly scheduled business meeting.

Budget town halls

At the budget town hall meetings, community members will have the opportunity to learn about the superintendent’s proposed budget, offer comments and ask questions. Members of the Chesterfield County School Board will hold public town halls from 6:30-8 p.m. on the following dates:

Jan. 27, 2025 at Thomas Dale High (3626 W. Hundred Road)
Jan. 28, 2025 at Midlothian High (401 Charter Colony Pkwy)
Jan. 29, 2025 at Meadowbrook High (4901 Cogbill Road)
Feb. 5, 2025 at Tomahawk Creek Middle (1600 Learning Pl Loop)
Feb. 6, 2025 at Manchester Middle for Spanish speakers (7401 Hull Street Rd N)
Feb. 10, 2025 at Manchester High (12601 Bailey Bridge Road)

Budget work sessions and public hearings will be livestreamed at http://chesterfieldschoolsva.swagit.com/live/ and shown on Comcast channel 98 and Verizon channel 28.

Chesterfield County Legislative Delegation

Legislators who represent Chesterfield County are listed here.

To find out who your legislators are, visit whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov and follow the directions on the screen.

Budget 101: How the budget process works

The budget process for Chesterfield County Public Schools can seem confusing. These short videos explain how the it all works so you can be involved.

Budget 101 video – English

Budget 101 video – Spanish

Questions/Contact

For questions about the budget, email ccpsinfo@ccpsnet.net.