Prince William County School Board staff presented a proposed five‑year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) on Jan. 30 that increases the division’s planned investment by about $136 million to roughly $1.1 billion over fiscal years 2026–2030, driven largely by expanded maintenance spending, HVAC work and targeted new construction and additions.

The presentation, led by Superintendent Dr. McDade and senior operations and budget staff, outlined enrollment projections, facility condition scores and project‑specific plans including replacement and additions at Occoquan Elementary, the Woodbridge Area school, Potomac Shores No. 2, a 14th high school and multiple renovation and HVAC projects across the division.

Board and staff said the CIP is rooted in new facility condition assessments and energy audits and is intended to align capital spending with the division’s strategic priorities and the High Performance Building Act requirements adopted in 2024.

School leaders said the division used a facilities condition index developed through a partnership with Moseley Architects and incorporated investment‑grade HVAC audits to identify priorities. "This is the first time that our CIP will contain the full cadre of the facilities condition assessment," said Vernon Bach, chief operating officer, describing the process as "very data rich." Scott Halsey, an administrative coordinator in facilities planning, told the board, "We are seeing declining birth rates," and detailed how lower kindergarten cohorts and changing migration drive five‑year enrollment forecasts.

Key project and capacity notes in the presentation include: Occoquan replacement school (adds ~226 seats for a capacity of about 719; scheduled to open December 2025 as a mid‑year move); Woodbridge Area replacement (anticipated program capacity ~632; schedule moved to the 2026–27 school year); Potomac Shores No. 2 (capacity previously increased from 750 to 1,050; projected to approach 90–95% utilization as community build‑out continues); and an approved 14th high school with an approved 1,400‑seat capacity and a targeted opening in 2029–30.

Staff said the 14th high school could trigger redistricting that would affect seven high schools in the region—Colgan, Hilton, Forest Park, Woodbridge, Garfield, Freedom and Potomac—and that specialty programs and transfer patterns will shape how students redistribute. "Approximately 625 students transfer from the east side of the county to Osborne Park," Halsey noted as an example of transfer pressure that influences overcrowding and program placement.

On cost and scope, budget staff reported project estimate revisions based on external professional cost estimators. Dave Beavers of the budget office said the division shows substantial increases in maintenance investments, with the maintenance category up by roughly $158 million (about a 90% increase). HVAC work is a major driver: staff identified about $81.88 million in significant HVAC replacements across multiple schools and noted seven renovations that will include full HVAC replacement. Beavers said the CIP includes $15.5 million in LED lighting upgrades and about $14.75 million for solar photovoltaic installations.

CFO Shaquille Youssef summarized the five‑year financing plan and said the division increased the five‑year CIP from about $963 million to roughly $1.099 billion (about a $136 million increase). He also noted available county “proffer” or local funds of roughly $25 million shown in the plan and said the division is balancing bond financing with other resources such as cash transfers.

Board members pressed staff on multiple operational and policy details. Miss Trudenick asked whether the division can report how many students who transfer into high‑participation schools are athletes; staff said they can run that analysis. Several members asked whether the new artificial turf practice fields will be open to public use and how maintenance and replacement costs will be shared with parks and recreation; staff said current high‑school facility use requires a facilities use request and fee and that the division will analyze usage and costs and will share figures with the board.

Board members also asked about permitting for Pennington Traditional School (which lies inside the City of Manassas and faces longer permitting timelines), the status of the old Occoquan building (staff said the architect advised demolition rather than costly retrofit for preschool use), and the division’s strategy to provide science labs and music rooms during renovations.

On process and next steps, staff reiterated the budget and public engagement timeline: the superintendent will submit the FY2026 proposed budget (including the CIP) on Feb. 5; the division will hold a public meeting Feb. 10 and a public hearing Feb. 19; a school board work session is scheduled March 12 and board approval is planned for March 19, 2025. The school board chairman presents the approved school budget to the Prince William County Board of Supervisors on April 1; the supervisors’ scheduled approval date is April 22, 2025.

No formal vote on the CIP occurred at the Jan. 30 work session; the only formal action recorded at the meeting was the unanimous approval of the meeting agenda at the start.

Board members and staff flagged areas for follow‑up: a third‑party turf‑field condition assessment before adding field replacements to the CIP, a staff analysis of public use and replacement‑cost sharing for artificial turf fields, a report on LED retrofit versus lifecycle savings, and additional enrollment granularity that disaggregates residing students from transfers and specialty‑program participants.

The presentation and discussion underscore the division’s shift toward data‑driven capital planning—using facility condition indexes, energy audits and revised residential build‑rate modeling—while board members continued to raise questions about how specialty programs, transfers and redistricting should factor into a long‑range capital plan.