Letter to the Editor
If You Like Cliffhangers, Here’s a Show for You
You may have seen a text or email with the dramatic headline: STAFFORD TAX ALERT. Don’t panic—it’s just spring. The geese are migrating, the pollen is back, and yes, the Stafford Board of Supervisors’ annual Budget Drama is once again in full swing. It’s a series old enough for syndication, featuring familiar characters, recycled plotlines, and the same high stakes for residents: hard choices with real consequences. But as usual, the supervisors behind the ALERT aren’t warning about the dangers of underfunding essential services. At first glance, it’s the same old story. But stay tuned—this season comes with plot twists, and a cliffhanger.
PLOT TWIST 1
Supervisor Crystal Vanuch, this year’s lead antagonist, needs a fourth vote to push through her budget cuts. Enter incumbent Democrat Pam Yeung. Behind closed doors, Vanuch reportedly offers Yeung a deal: in exchange for Yeung’s support on the cuts—including slashing a long-overdue fine arts wing at North Stafford High and millions from public school funding—Vanuch would fast-track an unneeded elementary school project in Yeung’s district. A political boost in a tough re-election year, but at what cost?
PLOT TWIST 2
Just as the local drama heats up, Governor Youngkin slashes state funding to counties. At the same time, federal education appropriations are being rolled back by DOGE. The squeeze is on, and Stafford’s schools are caught in the middle.
CLIMAX
Let’s talk taxes. Stafford relies more heavily on residential real estate taxes than neighboring counties—but ironically, the taxes they pay are among the lowest in the region. Residents expect top-tier services—like quality schools and public infrastructure—but the numbers don’t add up.
Why? For years, Vanuch and her allies have underfunded Stafford’s school system and slow-rolled the capital improvement plan. Meanwhile, they’ve failed to lay the groundwork for commercial development. Now, the county finds itself eyeing massive, resource-hungry projects like a 75,000-square-foot Buc-ee’s and sprawling data centers at the edge of Stafford’s largest neighborhoods.
CLIFFHANGER
Will Vanuch seal the deal with Yeung? Will Supervisor English remain silent? Will Bohmke continue to march to the beat of Vanuch’s drum? Will Stafford County Public Schools bleed out as the crowd cheers for short-term savings? Or will residents reject the theater and make the hard, necessary choice to fund services at the level they demand?
The finale airs Tuesday. Don’t miss it.
Michael Parkyn
Stafford County
Local Obituaries
To view local obituaries or to send a note to family and loved ones, please visit the link that follows.
Support Award-winning, Locally Focused Journalism
The FXBG Advance cuts through the talking points to deliver both incisive and informative news about the issues, people, and organizations that daily affect your life. And we do it in a multi-partisan format that has no equal in this region. Over the past year, our reporting was:
First to break the story of Stafford Board of Supervisors dismissing a citizen library board member for “misconduct,” without informing the citizen or explaining what the person allegedly did wrong.
First to explain falling water levels in the Rappahannock Canal.
First to detail controversial traffic numbers submitted by Stafford staff on the Buc-ee’s project
Our media group also offers the most-extensive election coverage in the region and regular columnists like:
And our newsroom is led by the most-experienced and most-awarded journalists in the region — Adele Uphaus (Managing Editor and multiple VPA award-winner) and Martin Davis (Editor-in-Chief, 2022 Opinion Writer of the Year in Virginia and more than 25 years reporting from around the country and the world).
For just $8 a month, you can help support top-flight journalism that puts people over policies.
Your contributions 100% support our journalists.
Help us as we continue to grow!
This article is published under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. It can be distributed for noncommercial purposes and must include the following: “Published with permission by FXBG Advance.”