WJCC Schools adopts $219 million budget that raises teacher pay, leaves out lacrosse

WILLIAMSBURG – The Williamsburg-James City County School Board approved a budget on Tuesday that provides compensation increases for teachers and staff but cuts out proposed funding for lacrosse.

The budget includes $4.5 million in new revenue based on former Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s state budget and $6 million in additional local revenue provided by the joint WJCC funding agreement.

Total expenditure increases for the upcoming fiscal year amount to about $11.9 million. Of that, the vast majority – $10.1 million – will be spent on compensation and benefit increases.

Superintendent Daniel Keever initially proposed a $220.2 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year. However, $1.2 million was cut after the localities, James City County and the City of Williamsburg, did not approve the full funding request.

The board voted 6-1 in favor of adopting the revised $219 million budget, with Stonehouse District board member Michael Hosang in opposition.

The cuts mean the division will not proceed with the originally proposed hiring of two new school security officers, a gifted resource teacher, an HR coordinator, a finance support employee and a maintenance assistant.

“Because the funding was not approved, these items will be removed from the fiscal year 2027 budget,” said Rene Ewing, chief financial officer for WJCC Schools.

Most controversially, the adopted budget shaves off $225,000 in funding that would have made lacrosse a Virginia High School League (VHSL)-certified sport. The division will also not move forward with plans to establish a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) this year.

The local lacrosse community packed into James City County budget meetings this year to advocate for the sport to gain VHSL certification in the division, which would have provided additional resources for students, including transportation to games.

Lacrosse is currently only available on a club level at WJCC Schools, meaning the families of participants must pay for equipment and coordinate transportation themselves.

Nonetheless, James City County’s Board of Supervisors allocated $1.6 million in funding to replace the turf at Jamestown High School’s Cooley Field. The field is used for a variety of student sports, including lacrosse, soccer, football and field hockey.

Hosang said teacher pay increases should be cut back by .25% to make it possible to fund the lacrosse request. He pointed out that pay increases for federal workers this year are “significantly less” than what was proposed for current district employees.

“We can’t have it both ways,” Hosang said. “Either we support a sport for our students and are willing to pay for it, or we just say we’re not supporting it because we’re not looking for a way to pay for it. We can’t keep telling players and families to wait until next year and see what happens.”

Ty Hodges, Jamestown District representative, said there are budgetary and “logistical hurdles” that need to be sorted out before the lacrosse plans can move ahead. He said the division should first prioritize increasing compensation to remain competitive with neighboring districts.

Hodges added that the replacement of the turf at Cooley Field is an important first step toward achieving the longer-term lacrosse goals.

“As much as I wanted to see lacrosse added as a VHSL sport this year, the realist in me recognizes that the landscape is not right for it right now,” Hodges said.

The board also discussed plans for an upcoming school redistricting, spurred by the opening of two new pre-kindergarten schools that are set to open in the fall of 2027. The change means there will be vacant classrooms at some elementary schools, while others will continue to be stretched above capacity.

A final recommendation of the new attendance zones will be made to the school board this fall for implementation starting in the 2027-28 school year.

“There is unlikely to be what someone considers to be a perfect map,” Keever said of the redistricting process. “The goal is to identify the best overall balance for students, families and WJCC as an entirety.”

The current map and draft proposal – which is still in a preliminary phase – can be viewed here.