Stafford School Board and Supervisors Clarify Misinformation, Discuss Funding at Joint Work Session
Boards are committed to working together on a funding plan, chairs say.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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The Stafford School Board and Board of Supervisors used a joint work session this week to dispel several pieces of misinformation that have been circulating the county about the division—namely, that student achievement continues to decline and that the county spends tens of thousands of dollars per student per year.
In reality, School Board members said at Wednesday’s work session, the annual per-pupil expenditure as of 2023 was $13,000. That’s lower than per pupil expenditures in Spotsylvania ($14,234) and Fredericksburg City ($19,499), according to information provided by the school division—and also below the national average of $18,000, Falmouth School Board representative Sarah Chase pointed out.
And student achievement, as measured by the spring Standards of Learning tests, is increasing, not declining, superintendent Daniel Smith said. Reading pass rates last year were up 4% over 2021; mathematics pass rates were up 18%; science pass rates were up 10%; and history and social studies pass rates were up 9%—and in all cases, pass rates were either at or just one percentage point off the state average.
“So we have seen improvements across the board,” Smith said. “We have recovered to pre-pandemic levels in terms of early literacy, specifically with students with disabilities and English language learners, and we have made tremendous increases in dual enrollment and AP courses. We’re now past pre-pandemic levels and achieve higher in some of those areas.”
Chase noted that the Board of Supervisors deserves some of the credit for improved student achievement.
“The last four years, you guys have stepped up in terms of funding our school system,” she said.
Supervisor Crystal Vanuch, Rock Hill district representative, pressed the School Board for more data showing how last year’s SOL scores compare to pre-pandemic achievement. School Board Chair Maureen Siegmund said the division would provide that information, but pointed out that the comparison would not be simple, since the state Board of Education made changes to how SOL tests were administered in 2017.
School Board members went through their budget request with supervisors, emphasizing that students in the school division make up one out of every five residents of Stafford County, and that both elected bodies must deal with explosive growth that was set in motion before any of the current members were elected.
“This year, kindergarten enrollment exceeded the county’s birth rate from five years ago by 12%, a testament to the growing number of families choosing Stafford,” Siegmund said.
The School Board is requesting an additional $18.3 million in local funding for next fiscal year in order to invest in employees by implementing salary scale adjustments for licensed and support staff and increasing the starting pay for new teachers.
Along with these “discretionary” expenditures, the School Board’s $503.1 million proposed budget includes $914,324 to staff the three new schools set to open in August of 2026 and to meet; $7.5 million for new positions required by state Standards of Quality; and $4 million for increased employee health insurance.
Siegmund said the budget request exhibits good financial stewardship. She said $5 million has been cut from the budget in recent years, “$890,000 this year alone.”
“Our commitment to efficinecy is further demonstrated by $20 million in cost savings for high school #6 and the two new elementary schools,” Siegmund said.
Looming over Wednesday’s joint session was news that the federal Education Department plans to lay off half of its staff. Supervisor Darrell English wanted to know if the School Board has a plan for what would happen if $33 million in federal funding—$10.5 in Title I funds, $3.2 million for Head Start, $14.1 million for school nutrition, and $5.5 in other funds—no longer comes directly to the division as a result of the dismantling of the Education Department.
“We are underfunded as it is, and if we lose any more money, what’s our plan? Pray,” said School Board vice chair and Aquia representative Maya Guy. “That’s a community question. All of you are going to have to answer that.”
Rock Hill representative Patricia Healy said the division is required by law to provide a free and appropriate public education to every student.”
“We’re going to have to provide that whether or not we get the federal funding,” she said. “The challenge is that if the money goes to the state instead, it’s going to be the state’s discretion on how to distribute it.”
Board of Supervisors chair Deuntay Diggs said this is “going to be a tough budget year.”
“The reality is, there is only so much money to go around,” he said. “But we’re going to work through it. We all care about the kids and we are going to work on this together.”
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