Special Report: Stafford School Budget Proposal Includes $14.2 Million Gap Between Revenues and Expenditures
Superintendent Daniel Smith presented his proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 to the School Board on Tuesday evening.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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There is a $14.2 million gap between projected revenues and expenses in the budget for next fiscal year proposed by Stafford’s school superintendent, Daniel Smith.
That gap could be filled by a combination of additional funding from the state or from Stafford County.
“Closing this gap is not about luxury—it’s about necessity,” Smith said Tuesday evening, at a special meeting of the School Board called for the purpose of receiving the budget proposal. “This gap highlights the importance of advocacy.”
The proposed budget for fiscal year 2026—which will run from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026—assumes $476.4 million in revenue, largely from state and local sources, with less than 2% coming from other sources, such as federal grants.
The budget identifies $490.6 million in expenditures that Smith said are necessary to fulfill the goals laid out in the division’s strategic plan, which are:
Ensure meaningful post-secondary outcomes for all students
Support high expectations for academic performance and expand opportunities for all students
Ensure every student, staff, and family member receives a safe, engaging, and welcoming environment in our schools
Support and invest in all staff
The proposed budget assumes a $5 million increase in funds from Stafford County. Smith said that’s based on “guidance” from County Administrator Bill Ashton and represents a 3.4% increase over the amount of funding provided for the current fiscal year.
“Frankly, this level of increase will not allow us to continue the same level of education and staff support,” Smith said.
Rather, a 6.5% increase in funding is necessary to meet the division’s needs, which include providing a 3% compensation increase to staff, hiring 44 new teachers (36 English language teachers, seven reading specialists, and one gifted teacher) to meet state minimum requirements, and keeping pace with inflation.
Smith said his budget proposal represents “really tough decisions,” whittling down the amount of departmental requests from $23.9 million to $4.9 million, the amount dedicated to staff compensation from $18.3 million to $11 million, and the amount requested for staffing the three new schools that will come online in August of 2026 from $1.4 million to $914,000.
The requested amount for staff compensation will not be enough to fully implement Phase 4 of a five-year plan to correct the salary scale for teachers and instructional support staff, which had compressed over the years, especially at the midpoint. Instead, Smith is proposing to “take a small bite” out of Phase 4, addressing the step from 15 to 16 of the salary scale.
The proposed budget would include full implementation of Phase 2 of a similar plan to correct the salary scale for service staff.
Smith said the proposed budget does not fund a further $59 million in school division needs.
“This budget is a call to action for our county and our community to join us” in advocating for the needs of more than 32,000 students—or 19.2% of the county’s population—and 5,404 employees, Smith said.
He noted that the school division is the county’s largest employer.
Smith said the division is “committed to transparency and collaboration” with the Board of Supervisors.
“We need the support of our county and community,” he said. “We had a very positive and productive meeting with the Board of Supervisors [last week] and I believe they are open to making the necessary investments. I believe everyone is interested in what is best for our kids.”
The next steps in the budget process are town halls scheduled for February 4 and 6, a public hearing before the School Board on February 11, and School Board approval on February 25.
The School Board will then present the budget to the Board of Supervisors on March 12. Final adoption of the budget for fiscal year 2026 is expected to occur on April 22.
This story has been updated to clarify how the proposed budget would impact the teacher salary scale.
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A 52% increase since 2021 and that doesn't include the many millions of new school debt service for three new schools.
I wonder how many federal workers and their families live in Stafford County and pay taxes that will be needed to advance these kinds of budgetary pursuits. We're in a moment of extraordinary disjunction. Will the center hold?