Stafford school leaders ask supervisors for $23.3 million to meet FY26 mandatory needs

Stafford County School Board leaders told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday they need the county to fund at least $23,300,000 to cover what the schools called “basic needs” for fiscal 2026, including state-mandated staffing, health-insurance increases and aging facilities.

The school board presentation, delivered by district staff and the superintendent, said that federal and state funding will not cover several locally required costs and that local dollars are the only source the division can use to meet Stafford-specific priorities. The presentation laid out enrollment growth projections (about 6,200 additional students over the next decade), a pupil total of roughly 32,000 students, and an employee total of more than 5,400 staff, and described how those trends and legal staffing ratios drive the funding request.

School leaders told supervisors that staff compensation and benefits account for the bulk of the division’s expenditures and that without local support the division will fall short of the Virginia Standards of Quality staffing minimums for key areas such as English-language learners, reading support and gifted education. The presentation listed specific shortfalls the division said would exist under current funding levels, including the need to add roughly 36.5 English-language-learner teachers, seven reading specialists and one gifted teacher to meet state minimums.

The schools’ presentation also described three other central pressures: rapidly rising health-insurance costs (presenters said claims had increased more than 15% this year and were projected to exceed 20% by year-end), carryover and capital needs such as Chromebook and bus replacement cycles, and long-term repair and renovation work across aging buildings including projects at Drew Middle School, Hartwood Elementary and North Stafford High School’s fine arts wing.

School staff said their FY26 request funds implementation of an agreed multi-year pay-scale plan (phases 2–4 of service and instructional scales) and that roughly $5,000,000 of the requested funding would go directly toward operating expenses in the near term (including cyclical technology replacements and bus purchases). The presenters said approximately $33,300,000 of the division’s revenue currently comes from federal sources (Title I, Head Start and nutrition programs among them) and warned that those federal streams could not be fully substituted by local dollars if they were reduced or redirected.

Supervisors questioned school staff about vacancy savings, the value and cost of contracting custodial services, and contingency planning if federal education funding were substantially changed. County finance staff described midyear compensation and benefit savings and said the health-benefits fund was exceeding projections, while school officials said they were working on scenario planning but had not produced a finished contingency plan.

Student Representative Irish, speaking near the end of the session, urged funding for technology replacements and described worn devices in classrooms: “I opened the Chromebook, and it’s like the metal’s peeling off the thing. The hinges are inspired,” she said, adding that better-resourced teachers produce higher AP and dual-enrollment outcomes.

Supervisors and school board members also discussed legislative advocacy: several supervisors and school board members urged coordinated, bipartisan outreach to state representatives over unfunded mandates, the state’s “cost of competing” supplement for Northern Virginia-area pay adjustments, and other items that the boards said could reduce local pressure if the General Assembly acted. Several speakers proposed joint letters or meetings with delegates to request explanations for votes that affected Stafford funding.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to allow Supervisor Bumke to attend the meeting virtually: approved by voice vote (motion, second; no roll-call recorded). Note: transcript records the motion, a second, and a voice vote in favor.

- Motion to allow Supervisor Vannouch to attend the meeting virtually: approved by voice vote (motion, second; no roll-call recorded). Note: transcript records the motion, a second, and a voice vote in favor.

Looking ahead, both boards said they will continue joint planning on legislative priorities and urged constituents to participate in outreach to the state delegation. School officials requested the supervisors consider the FY26 funding request when they finalize the county budget, emphasizing that local dollars are the only flexible funding source the division can use to address Stafford-specific staffing and facilities needs.