Voters in Stafford County could see a bond referendum on the ballot in November 2023 as the Board of Supervisors and School Board wrangle over how to pay for $1.6 billion in new schools and infrastructure needs over the next 10 years.
The school division needs two elementary schools to handle 1,10o more primary school students enrolled in the county by 2026. This year, the school division had 900 more elementary school-aged children enroll than expected as the pandemic waned and life in the classroom returned to normal for most children.
During a rare joint meeting between the Board of Supervisors, which raises taxes to fund the schools, and the School Board on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, county public schools superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor urged the Supervisors to support the construction of two elementary schools at once. Taylor said the division needs to break ground on the new schools next summer to be ready to receive students in Fall 2026.
The county elementary schools to face the most overcrowded conditions in the next 10 years include Stafford Elementary in the central part of the county, Rocky Run in the south, and Hartwood in the west. According to schools’ estimates, each will be short 294, 171, and 351 seats, respectively.
The estimated cost for the two new schools totals $121 million, and Taylor suggested the Supervisors could float general obligation bonds or enter into a pooled bond agreement with the state.
Taylor also suggested letting voters decide whether or not to fund the schools and a slew of other projects in the division’s capital improvement plan in a bond referendum. New middle and high schools, rebuilds of several elementary schools, additions to existing schools, a replacement for a headstart school, and a school bus transportation maintenance center could all appear in the referendum.
Waiting to construct the new schools would add $15 million to the price tag of each school, Taylor warned. Taylor said he is in the process of securing a site for the new elementary schools and will complete designs for the new buildings next summer.
School leaders blamed the Board of Supervisors for ignoring the division’s infrastructure needs for the past 15 years and now say it’s time to pay.
The school division is also working to move forward with a plan from 2008 to build the county’s sixth high school somewhere in the southeastern portion of the county, at an estimated $181 million cost, with a 2028 targeted opening date. The government school will be one of the most expensive ever constructed in Virginia.
The two Boards remain at odds over rebuilding and replacing the 59-year-old Hartwood Elementary School, the only public school in the county that relies on a well for water. Supervisors provided funding for the Hartwood rebuild, but school leaders say Supervisors should change their funding priorities and first pay for the two new elementary schools.
“I’m trying to understand how it got flipped,” said Aquia District School Board member Maya Guy. I was volunteering in a gym at an elementary school, and we had to keep saying ‘be quiet’ because we had a class in the gym. We use bookshelves for walls to make classrooms.”
Garrisonville School Board member Maureen Siegmund echoed, saying the Hartwood rebuild would give the county 400 seats, about half of what would be provided by a newly-built elementary school. “The kids just keep coming, and it’s a beautiful sight. We just want the most welcoming place for them to learn,” said Siegmund.
Hartwood District Supervisor Darrell English pushed back and said rebuilding Hartwood Elementary School and placing the building on public sewer and water is what is needed first. “We owe it to the community to build a new school. That school is in sad shape,” said English. “You can shake your head all you want; this is one of the richest communities in the nation, but to have a school on well and septic, that’s unacceptable.”
Board of Supervisors Chairman Crystal Vanuch said the county has “made leaps and bounds for funding” the schools’ needs and provided additional funding for capital projects and funds to increase bus driver pay.
“Our board is committed to education and ensuring Stafford County is a great place to live, work and raise a family,” said Vanuch. “We have needs on our side of the street as well.”
If the Board of Supervisors chose to fund the $1.6 billion plan solely on the backs of taxpayers, it would increase the Real Estate tax rate by 64%, hiking an average $3,000 tax bill to $9,000, she said.
Supervisors will continue the school funding conversation in December. Members from both Boards said the meeting was productive and urged more joint appointments in the future.
Correction: This story incorrectly reported the number of elementary school students expected to be enrolled in Stafford school in 2026.
