Stafford schools adopt $374 million budget with historic employee pay raises

The Stafford County School Board adopted a $374 million budget for the 2022-2023 school year on Tuesday, April 26, 2022.

The budget allots $20.6 million for the employee raises scale, giving teachers and licensed staff will receive pay increases between five and nearly 20 percent, in what the school division calls “the first step in correcting a salary scale that has been compressed over several years.”

The remaining budget focuses on responsible solutions concentrated on recruiting new employees, managing growth, and providing students with an on-time bus to school.

“Our Superintendent is laser-focused on supporting our teachers, who are the core of the school division, and this budget clearly reflects that commitment,” said School Board Chairman Patricia Healy. “It is encouraging to know that the Board of Supervisors also recognizes the importance of teachers and is working with us to best support our shared interest of hiring and retaining the best possible teachers for our students.”

“This budget directly aligns with the School Board’s adopted budget priorities from the fall of 2021 while accomplishing the board’s goals,” said Vice Chairman Susan Randall. “I am proud to support this budget and our teachers.”

In addition to the historic teacher pay increase, the budget provides an across-the-board 5 percent increase for service staff while accounting for growth management. Further, the adopted budget accounts for the recent rise in fuel costs and utilities such as electricity.

According to the school division, the budget streamlines central office expenses to offset these costs, reorganizing existing staff and funding sources to better support schools directly.

“We are a school system of people, not of things,” said Superintendent Dr. Thomas W. Taylor. “Studies show that excellent teachers are the single most important factor in student achievement. Prioritizing our most important asset allows us to provide competitive salaries, retain our great staff, and recruit new and innovative teachers into the division. I am grateful to the School Board and the Board of Supervisors for working together to move the needle tremendously in support of our teachers and students.”

The adopted budget increased approximately $32.4 million over the FY22 budget. The school division placed more information about its budget online.