What does Henrico Schools spend its budget on?
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Henrico Schools approved a $881 million budget last year, and school system officials are looking to increase their budget by $33 million in the coming fiscal year. It takes a lot of money to run a school system – but what is all that money spent on?
Last year, HCPS’ budget added 73 new elementary staff positions and provided permanent funding to 62 positions that were previously covered by a federal COVID relief grant, which expired this past September. Since the ending of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund – a $190 billion federal aid program started in 2020 – school divisions like Henrico have had to draw from other funding sources to ensure that staff positions and programs created through ESSER funds could stay intact.
This year, HCPS is proposing a $914 million budget, which would add more security officers to open campus-style schools and more ESL teachers to accommodate a growing English Learner population. If passed, HCPS’ budget will have grown by almost $100 million in the past two years.
But along with expiring federal relief funds, school divisions have also had to deal with rising costs in school construction, employee healthcare, school equipment like buses and playgrounds, and in other materials, according to HCPS Chief Financial Officer John Wack. And in Virginia, divisions face some significant limitations with an antiquated school funding formula and a cap on funding for needed support staff.
Despite these challenges, HCPS has been able to make some big investments over the past year into new mental healthcare resources, new school buildings, and upgraded technology. Here’s a more detailed look into where HCPS gets its funds and how it uses them.
Where does the money come from?
The majority of Henrico Schools’ funding comes from state and local revenue. About 48% of last year’s budget came from the state government, while 45% came from the county government and 7% came from federal grants and programs.
(Click here or below for a detailed look into HCPS’ revenue sources 2024-2025).
Last year, Henrico received $195 million in basic aid from the state and $72.8 million from the state’s sales tax. This year, Wack said that Henrico may see an extra $46 million in state revenue through Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed state budget.
Other state funds are specifically tied to certain programs, such as ESL funding, funds for textbooks, Standards of Quality funding for special education, funds for at-risk students, funding for career and technical education programs, and a salary incentive for K-3 staff.
About $24 million in federal funding went to school lunches and breakfast packages as a part of the National School Lunch program. Another $13.5 million was allocated in Title IV funding, which supports exceptional education programs.
HCPS received $13.5 in federal Title I funding, assistance to schools with high percentages of students from low-income families, to support HCPS’ 22 Title I schools. However, Henrico’s Title I funding is set to decrease this year, Wack said, prompting HCPS to use $1 million in local funding to keep services intact.
From the county, HCPS received a $310 million appropriation from the Board of Supervisors and $10 million in Meals Tax funding, which will be used for school construction projects. HCPS also has a few local funding revenues within the division, including cafeteria receipts ($7 million), summer school charges ($2.7 million), driver’s education program charges ($256,000), and high school parking fees ($100,000).
Where does the money go?
Henrico Schools spends a large portion of its budget on its biggest service – its staff members. Employee salaries, benefits, stipends, and bonuses make up the bulk of each HCPS department’s spending.
HCPS has 7,457 full-time positions and 236 part-time positions funded through its budget, which does not include contracted employees from other organizations. Last year, teachers and bus drivers also received a 7.2% pay raise, while all other staff members received a 4.8% raise.
The other spending goes to all of the materials, equipment, supplies, and technology needed to run the school division for the entire year. During the first six months of the 2024-2025 fiscal year (July 1- to Dec. 31, 2024), HCPS spent $124 million on these materials, paying more than 2,000 outside companies and organizations.
(Click here or below for a detailed look into HCPS’ spending during the first half of FY2025)
HCPS’ Department of Facilities made up about 40% of that spending – almost $50 million – with several school rebuilds and renovations in the works, as well as a plethora of general building maintenance needs. Not only has HCPS faced increasing construction costs, said HCPS Chief of Operations Lenny Pritchard, the division also has to confront its aging buildings – about three-quarters of HCPS’ schools are more than 30 years old and 60% are more than 50 years old.
The second largest chunk of spending, about 18%, was made up by the HCPS Department of Technology. HCPS paid around $10 million to Dell Technologies and $7 million to DSI Tech, which provide information technology services.
When it comes to curriculum and teaching resources, Henrico paid almost $5 million for literacy materials from Benchmark Education Company – one of the Virginia Department of Education’s approved programs for implementing the Virginia Literacy Act. HCPS also paid about $1 million to Curriculum Associates for other school curricula.
HCPS’ other big investments include $1.3 million to PowerSchool – online software for schools to provide grades, applications, etc. – and $208,000 to ParentSquare – a new communication app for parents and staff HCPS adopted in 2023.
Henrico's latest investment in its mental health plan – Care Solace, a free mental health care coordination service available to all students and staff – cost about $212,000 during the past six months, the largest portion of spending from the Department of Counseling Services.
HCPS also spent a significant portion of funds on sign language interpreting services for deaf or hard of hearing students (about $600,000 to Mosaic Interpreting Services and other interpreters), language interpretation services for non-English speaking families (about $230,000 to The Language Group and Volatia), and behavioral services for students with autism (almost $200,000 to The Stepping Stones Group).
Almost half of spending for school security went to Raptor Technologies, online safety software that helps schools screen visitors and other services.
The Henrico School Board is set to vote on HCPS’ proposed 2025-2026 $914 million budget on Feb. 27, with final approval of the budget not set until later this spring.
Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s Report for America Corps member and education reporter. Her position is dependent upon reader support; make a tax-deductible contribution to the Citizen through RFA here.
