Pleas to fund the school system topped the list of requests that Roanoke City Council members heard during a marathon session Monday night.
The city council held a series of five public hearings starting at 7 p.m., including a hearing to receive the views of citizens regarding the city budget for fiscal year 2025-26. The budget will be approved prior to the start of the fiscal year on July 1.
It’s a $403 million city budget, partly funded by a proposed meals tax increase of 1.5 percentage points. Controversially, there is no increase in funding for Roanoke schools, creating a shortfall of close to $7 million dollars for the education system.
“Don’t let today’s challenges steal our students’ choices for tomorrow,” said school board Chair Eli Jamison.
She was one of a stream of speakers, some of whom trickled into the council chambers from an overflow room. Jamison said this was the first time in her eight years as a school board appointee that she has addressed the city council.
“I hope you will understand the seriousness of why I am here,” she said.
This has been a challenging budget year, but choices made will help the city catch up on delayed priorities in maintenance and staff pay, City Manager Valmarie Turner said previously.
Also speaking in favor of more school funding was former school board member Mark Cathey. He said with the uncertainty happening nationally, now is not the time to make big changes to the growing school system.
“I just don’t want us to do anything drastic yet,” Cathey said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen around the corner.”
Most of the speakers, many parents, also spoke against the city budget’s lack of school funding. Several speakers said to continue investing in bus infrastructure, and one advocated for parks investments.
Former city council member Trish White-Boyd said the city manager and staff crafted a balanced budget that serves the city’s needs effectively. She said to pass the proposed budget with as few changes as possible, “particularly with regard to the inclusion of the meals tax.”
“The city has demonstrated their commitment to achieving excellence within our schools — a goal that has required sacrifices, such as adjustments in employee compensation, deferred maintenance and postponement of capital improvement projects,” White-Boyd said. “Thankfully, the current budget addresses many of these issues.”
The council took a brief recess Monday night at 8:50 p.m., with public hearings still to hold regarding real estate and meals taxes. The proposed budget will be voted on for adoption during a council meeting May 12, after a meeting to study the budget on May 5, according to city documents.