Heather Bell
RADFORD – Radford City Council recently voted unanimously not to allocate additional city funds for a required local match for the city’s school system to receive additional state funding.
At a special meeting July 22, 2026, council members voted not to give the school system an additional $205,209 in funding in order for the schools to receive $1.4 million in funding from the state and instead asked the school system to utilize fund from the schools’ capital improvement fund, made up of “rollover” funds the schools have at the end of each fiscal year. The additional state funds are earmarked for special education, at-risk students, class size reduction, compensation supplements and the Virginia preschool initiative.
Radford City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Adam Joyce said the school system would find a way to come up with the matching funds needed, with or without additional funds from the city. All five members of city council said they do not want the use of the schools’ capital improvements rollover account to be a precedent for years to come, but due to the city’s current financial strains each felt it would not be in the best interest of the city as a whole to allocate additional funds this year.
“When [the state] puts that local match on a locality that is working to stabilize its financial position, that adds a burden and that is a difficult challenge,” said Mayor David Horton.
“I love Radford and I love the education I got here,” said Council member Guy Wohlford to Joyce, “but as you have your responsibility to the school board, we have our responsibility to the city and the people of Radford.”
“You don’t land on the fiscally distressed order from the governor unless your locality is really trying to get its financial house on order,” said Vice Mayor Seth Gillespie. “You can’t have a healthy school system if you don’t have a healthy city, and we are working hard to get that. There is light at the end of the tunnel. I hope we’re in a very different place when this conversation happens next year.”
Council Member Jessie Foster pointed out the decision the city made years ago to allow the Radford City School Board to keep funds leftover at the end of each fiscal year is not the norm, and therefore puts the school system in the unique position to be able to provide the matching funds for this year.
“It is very rare that schools are allowed to even carry a capital reserve,” she said. “As a city, we’re trying to build our own capital reserve, and that money that you hold is taxpayer money to be utilized toward the schools’ needs.”
“I don’t want this to become a precedent at all,” added Council Member Kellie Artrip. “It is something we have to do right now, and it’s kind of the only option we have. We are trying to right our ship and we’re moving in the right direction.”
Council members unanimously passed a motion to support the local match with no new money coming from the city.
