PTO leaders press Stafford County school board for repairs, safety upgrades and clearer 3R plans

Stafford County PTO and PTSO leaders, students and school staff used a board-hosted roundtable to press the school system for urgent repairs, clearer capital project timelines and consistent discipline and communications across schools.

The discussion, held in front of several school board members, centered on playground safety and surfacing, recurring HVAC and plumbing failures, degraded athletics facilities and uneven discipline practices. "The mulch at Kate Mulberry is not up to standard," Kiara Reynolds, PTO president, told the board, adding that teachers and staff have raised the issue repeatedly. Nicole Balk, representing Anthony Burns, said her PTO is seeking help to fund a supervised safe space for students with special needs and is preparing a mural proposal to improve a courtyard area.

Why it matters: board members said these priorities feed into the division's capital improvement planning and operating budget decisions. Board member Dr. Chase said the CIP and the 3R list drive many repairs and capital upgrades and that opening new schools will increase operating costs in the coming year. "Opening those three schools increases our operating budget by $9,000,000 next year," Dr. Chase said, adding that funding decisions are constrained by county appropriations.

Parents and volunteers also raised safety and maintenance problems at multiple schools. Jennifer Zirkle, Hampton Oaks PTO president, asked to replace rusted drinking fountains with bottle-refill stations (the PTO offered to purchase fixtures), fix field erosion left after county mowing, remove a jagged metal piece observed on a baseball field and add all-inclusive playground equipment. Annie Garrison, Widewater PTO president, asked for more walkie-talkies in SPED classrooms, described repeated AC failures that forced activities outside, and reported persistent plumbing backups.

Student voices and safety systems: Lillian Eason, the alternate student representative at Brookpoint, told the board some classrooms are extremely warm in the mornings and that not all rooms reliably receive schoolwide announcements during lockdown drills—gaps that, she said, could risk student safety. Mountain View PTSO leader Sheather Reba said Mountain View is operating above capacity and requested training from the sheriff's office for volunteers who help manage school events and occasional incidents.

Board responses and follow-up: Board members acknowledged the concerns and urged parents to raise specific incidents with principals and administrators so staff can investigate. The board agreed to prioritize reported safety items and to consider whether some needs rise to emergency funding status. The board also discussed making the 3R list more accessible to parents, including the idea of publishing school-level 3R schedules so PTOs can better coordinate fundraising with planned projects.

What was not decided: No formal motions or votes were taken at the roundtable. Several participants asked about numbers and timelines in the 3R/CIP program; board members described proposed FY27/FY28 schedules for some items but emphasized final work depends on available county funding.

Next steps: Staff said they will compile the items raised, share school-based information about the 3R list and follow up on safety concerns flagged during the session. The board recessed briefly after the roundtable to continue other business.