07/08/2026
Here is what happened:
On June 30, Stafford County School Board voted on an amended budget based on the State budget passed on June 29 and a resolution for appropriation of the funds was sent to the Board of Supervisors. Thanks to the work of Delegates Stacey Carroll, Margaret Franklin, Josh Cole, and our state Senators we received additional funding.
We voted to return a portion of that money to the Stafford County BOS. The board voted on this decision based on the allocations from the state:
$4.15 Million was Unrestricted - we had expected $2.6 Million.
This money was mostly compensation, but the county had already helped us fund a 4.75% raise so we could issue contracts. The difference between what we received and what we expected was $1.55 million, we voted to return $1.325 million - about a half a cent in tax rate. No one will see any reduction in their taxes based on this outcome.
The other monies were restricted, that is designated for Special Education and At-Risk students, identified for a specific use. We were strategic about where we allocated these additional funds: increased staffing for Special Ed teachers, diagnosticians, SSO in middle school, additional counselors to help with a growing mental health challenge, and 504 plan support.
The final pot of money from the state was $1.9 million in one-time funds which we designated for 3R projects. That means state funds would be used to address a never-ending list of repairs and reduce county liability.
Unfortunately, despite the board vote two board members chose a different number, so even after the BOS passed the resolution 6:1 - they reached out to their counterparts and said we could return another $1.1 million. The county rescinded their vote and voted to reduce the appropriation by $2.4 million. The problem is the additional money was recommended to come from the one-time 3R funds, instead of waiting until the end of the fiscal year and returning additional money from salary lapse which was discussed.
Why this matters. Instead of using State funds for the 3R projects, and beginning work now, over the summer, we will delay $1.1 million in projects until the end of the fiscal year and then go back to the County and request the salary lapse to complete the projects.
The projects will always need to be completed; there are an endless number. We will still need to come back to the county and ask for the appropriation, but in a year, it is likely inflation will result in a $50,000-100,000 increase in the costs, the projects will have been delayed, and we will have saved nothing. It's essentially a shell game. We give $1.1 million back now and the county will still need to appropriate it at a later date. This process was complicated by the fact the budget was passed only days before the start of our fiscal year. Contracts need to be issued we anticipate there will be a lag in filling all the positions before the start of the 26-27 school year and that will contribute to the anticipated salary lapse.
Financial decisions should be deliberative and in the best interest of the community. The needs of our students and staff should our top priority. The board voted and made a reasonable decision that left room to revisit additional funds at the end of the fiscal year.
There was nothing gained by these two board members deciding they could end-run the vote of the School Board and take their proposal directly to the BOS. Now, they have cost our schools $1.1 million because the county reduced the appropriation by $2.4 million.
*CORRECTION*
The resolution passed by the county siphons $2.4 million in reoccurring funds from both years of the biennium budget. This will force the schools to reconsider expenditures because we will have to reduce $2.4 from the unrestricted funds lowering our base budget. A work session and meet will be held Tuesday 7/14.
