Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Schools topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Stafford schools project $10.5M in recurring costs for three new schools opening in 2026
Summary
Superintendent Daniel Smith told the board that three schools under construction (Hartwood High, Falls Run Elementary and Crows Nest Elementary) are on schedule for August 2026; recurring operating costs are estimated at about $10.5 million annually and require roughly 86.8 additional FTEs, with much of the classroom staff shifting from existing schools.
Stafford County schools are preparing to open three new buildings in August 2026 and the school division presented construction status, staffing and operating‑cost estimates to the Board of Supervisors.
Superintendent Daniel Smith reported Hartwood High is about 75% complete, designed for up to 2,150 students, and that Falls Run and Crows Nest elementary schools are at roughly 60% and 50% completion respectively. Smith said the projects have low change‑order percentages (well under typical industry averages) and that the division will return unused contingency funds to the county upon project closeout.
On operations, Smith estimated combined recurring annual operating costs to run the three new schools at about $10.5 million (staffing, utilities, supplies, technology, safety/compliance and site services). He said the division expects approximately 376 FTEs will be assigned to the three sites, with an incremental need of about 86.8 net new FTEs because the majority of classroom staff will be reassigned from overcrowded existing schools. The capital program total cited in the presentation was approximately $312 million for the three projects and related work.
Board members asked about phasing options, contingency plans if projects are delayed, state funding shares for some staffing positions, and how specialty programming and solar readiness were being handled. Smith said the buildings were designed to be 'solar ready' so panels can be added later and that he had not participated in conversations to delay scheduled openings; contingency planning exists but no plan to postpone opening the three schools was presented.
What’s next: the school division will supply detailed budget requests for the FY27 process that incorporate operating‑cost impacts of the three schools. The board requested breakdowns of state‑funded (SOQ) positions versus county‑funded positions for the incremental staffing requests.
