The Winchester School Board is authorized to oversee the operation and management of the City’s primary and secondary school system. The School Board sets its own budget and requests an annual transfer from the General Government. In November 2019 the residents of Winchester voted via a referendum to transition from an appointed School Board to one that is elected. The School Board consists of seven members, four of the seats were elected in November 2020 and the remaining seats were elected in November 2022.

L to R: Axel Vega-Mancinas (student rep), Vincent Di Benedetto III, Michael Birchenough, Carmen Crawford, Elyus Wallace, Jason Van Heukelum (Superintendent), Marie Imoh (Chair), Bryan Pearce-Gonzales (Vice-Chair) , Alivia Ricci (student rep), Erica Truban

The School Board does not have the ability to raise taxes or issue debt. All debts are issued by the General Government and associated debt service payments are budgeted by the General Government. Excess of revenues over expenditures are returned to the General Government at each year-end and reappropriated to the School Board the following fiscal year. These excess funds are available for the School Board’s use in future years for capital improvement projects. For more detail information on the Winchester Public Schools budget visit the School’s website at http://www.wps.k12.va.us

Total Cost Per Pupil for FY22 and FY23, equals $17,050 and $17,063 respectively. Per Virginia Code §22.1.92, Notification of the estimated average per pupil cost for pupil education in the school division for the coming year to each parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of a child enrolled in the relevant school division, in accordance with the budget estimates provided to the local governing body or bodies. Such notification shall include actual per pupil state and local education expenditures for the previous school year. The notice may also include federal funds expended for public education in the school division.

Estimated Required Local Effort - FY23 = $18,010,515

The local required match/effort are funds to be provided by the City for the cost of maintaining an educational program meeting the prescribed Standards of Quality, certain incentive programs, and some lottery funded programs. The total cost is apportioned between the state and the local government. (Reference: Virginia Code § 22.1-94)