Dear Charlottesville City Schools families,

I want to keep you informed about some important business that is affecting our staff this afternoon. As you may know, our School Board unanimously voted to pass a collective bargaining resolution in 2023, one of the first school divisions in Virginia to do so. This year our licensed staff (teachers) are working under the division’s first collective bargaining agreement, which spans three years. This agreements provides licensed professionals a 5.5% annual raise. 

This year, we negotiated with the Charlottesville Education Association (CEA) on the first contract for support professionals for 2026-27 (support professionals include IAs, nutrition workers, custodians, admin techs, and others). Unfortunately we have received confirmation this morning that the CEA does not intend to give its support professional unit members the opportunity to ratify the contract prior to the Board approving next year’s budget on February 19. Our legal counsel has advised that this failure to submit for ratification negates the agreement that was reached at the table. The Superintendent, therefore, will present a budget that includes the regular administrative raise of 3% for support professionals, rather than the 10.5% we had agreed to at the table. Please see below for the full message and FAQ sent to staff this afternoon.

Lisa Torres, Board Chair

Dear staff,

In the proposed budget for the 2026-27 school year, the School Board had been planning for a 10.5% raise for support professionals based on an agreement reached at the table on October 20, 2025, between the division administration and the support professional bargaining unit represented by the Charlottesville Education Association (CEA). However, we have received confirmation this morning that the CEA does not intend to give its support professional unit members the opportunity to ratify the tentative agreement in time for the Board approval of next year’s budget on February 19. Our legal counsel has advised that this failure to submit for ratification negates the agreement that was reached at the table. The Superintendent, therefore, will present a budget that includes a raise of 3% for support professionals, consistent with administrative staff (and 1% higher than the state-mandated raise of 2%). See the FAQ at the end of this message for more details. 

This is a truly unfortunate situation that affects our hardworking support professionals deeply. We have heard loud and clear that our IAs, nutrition workers, custodians, admin techs, and other support staff need better compensation. We were fully committed to passing a budget that included the 10.5% raise once we had the cooperation of the CEA. At this point the earliest a new contract can be considered is for the 2027-28 school year.

This does NOT affect the ratified contract of the licensed professionals unit, which includes a 5.5% salary/benefits increase for 2026-27.

Funds that were going to go toward the higher pay increase will now be used to support four bilingual instructional assistants, positions which were to be eliminated because they had been funded by a grant that was ending. 

We remain committed to the collective bargaining process, which is intended to give staff a voice in their pay, benefits, and working conditions. Unfortunately, CEA did not give support professionals an opportunity to vote on a 10.5% raise in time for this budget cycle. We wish it were different, and we stand with you in our disappointment. 

Thank you for all you do for the students and families of Charlottesville City Schools.

Sincerely,

The Charlottesville City School Board

Lisa Torres, Chair

Amanda Burns, Vice Chair

Zyahna Bryant

Shymora Cooper

Emily Dooley

Chris Meyer

Nicole Richardson

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can’t the Board just give support professionals the 10.5% raise even without an agreement?

We deeply value our staff. But the collective bargaining process means both sides need to come together to agree on mutual terms. The 10.5% was negotiated in exchange for other provisions CCS proposed that will not be honored now. The “bargain” that resulted in the 10.5% raise proposal died without ratification of the tentative agreement that had been reached at the table.

What happened during the negotiation process?

After several negotiations in September and October, on October 20, 2025, the division and the CEA made a tentative agreement that included:

• Defined workday lengths for various roles, 

• Defined contract days for various roles, 

• A 10.5% salary increase for each of the next three fiscal years

• Longevity bonuses

• Supplements for college degrees

• Bonuses for substitute teaching

• Paid breaks

• Regular admin/CSA meeting structure

• Event pay

• Professional development

• Bonus pay for working during weather closures 

The next step was for CEA to bring the contract to its unit members for a vote. Had it done so at that time, members would have had plenty of time to vote prior to the Board budget approval. However on January 16, the CEA requested to change the terms of the agreement regarding contract days, which CCS declined, as that element of the contract had already been agreed upon. On February 6, the CEA confirmed that it did not plan to submit the tentative agreement for ratification in time for Board approval of next year’s budget on February 19. The budget timeline is set by operation of state and local law and does not allow the School Board the flexibility of additional time at this point. CEA had an opportunity to address its post-agreement concerns but did not do so in time.