As budget season continues, there’s one thing clear in Lunenburg County: the requests for funding keep growing, while revenue does not. That’s one thing county supervisors went over in their April 10 budget work session, followed by more information and still more budget requests coming in the regular meeting that happened after. 

The key question here is about taxes. Will the county supervisors keep the tax rate the same? In order to do that, which of the funding requests will they have to reject? In order to fund everything that’s come to their door from every department, it would likely require a tax increase, which would be the third since 2017. The problem, as Lunenburg County Administrator Tracy Gee pointed out on April 10, is that the amount in requests keeps increasing. 

Earlier in the day, during the budget work session, it was time for community partners and local groups to submit their requests, asking for help from Lunenburg County. By the time of the regular meeting, Gee had done the math. This year’s amount of community requests came in approximately $340,000 more than last year. 

And then there’s the school system to discuss. In fiscal year 2017, the school district asked supervisors to provide $3,289,616 in local funding. For the proposed budget to take effect July 1, the district is asking for $6,113,191. For anyone wondering, that is an increase of $2,823,575 over those nine years. That’s not putting the blame on the school district officials, but rather on repeated unfunded mandates from the General Assembly, where Richmond leaders pass laws but then depend on local governments to actually fund the school support. Also increases come as the result of local needs, in order to keep quality teachers. 

The school district argument 

Officials from Lunenburg County Public Schools have been asking this budget season for a $751,398 overall increase for teacher salaries, in addition to the 3% increase required by the state. Since all districts have to give that 3%, it won’t help Lunenburg draw closer to some of the other districts in the region to do the same. More than that is needed in order to be competitive. 

And you’re talking about teachers that are in demand, as the district continues to improve. 

Two years ago, only 61% of Lunenburg students passed their writing SOL tests. This time around, that number spiked to 94%. There are other smaller gains, but still growth in each category. In reading, 65% of students passed, compared to 61% two years ago. In History, the percentage went from 56% to 59%, while in Math, the numbers rose from 56% to 62%. And finally in Science, another increase, with 67% of students passing, compared to 63% two years ago. 

Central High teachers also deserve recognition for the school’s achievement. Central was one of just 92 schools across the state to earn the Virginia Board of Education’s Highest Achievement Award this year. The annual award is given out to recognize schools that excelled in all areas. Every year, the Board of Education gives out two sets of “Exemplar” awards. The first is to recognize growth, to honor schools that improved from year to year. There were 49 on that list for 2024. The second is to pay tribute to schools like Central High that excelled across the board. 

In order to make this second list, a school has to perform higher than the state standard in reading, math and science in the Standards of Learning tests. That goes for all student groups across the school. Also, the school in question has to be rated better than the state average in the graduation and dropout rate, as well as chronic absenteeism. And based on scores, pass rates and data from this past school year, Central High certainly qualifies.  

And so this is the problem facing supervisors. You want to keep good teachers, because of the results they’re producing in local classrooms. And if they don’t get a higher paycheck, there is certainly that chance they leave. But can Lunenburg afford the increase? 

Lunenburg revenue doesn’t rise as fast 

We mentioned that the request from Lunenburg schools had jumped from $3,289,616 in local funding to $6,113,191 in nine years. Again, that is an increase of $2,823,575. During that same nine year period, the county’s real estate revenue only climbed $2,150,000. In that time period, the county has held two reassessments that basically led to tax increases. There was a 2 cent increase on the real estate tax rate in 2018 and a 3 cent increase in 2024. 

“It is a challenge to find out where those funds are going to come from,” Gee told the board in their April 10 meeting, speaking of all the requests made by community partners. She also pointed out that one earlier decision has helped the county stay afloat and offset some of these costs. Lunenburg has the lowest real estate tax rate in the region at 33 cents per $100 of assessed value. A big reason for that, Gee pointed out, is the landfill host fee paid each year by Meridian Waste. 

“We are expecting the revenue to be approximately a million dollars from the landfill host fees, whereas if we were to have built a landfill we would be paying $7 million in development,” Gee pointed out. “Selling the landfill may have been an unpopular decision but it has saved you over and over on the tax rate.” 

As mentioned, Lunenburg’s real estate tax rate sits at 33 cents. Prince Edward supervisors are considering either a 37 cent or 39 cent rate.   Meanwhile, Nottoway is at 45 cents and Amelia County at 46 cents. For the record, Buckingham and Cumberland are both at 60 cents, Charlotte is currently at 62 but considering a reduction and Appomattox is at 63 cents. 

What’s next? 

Budget discussions will continue into next month, as supervisors consider what changes to make.