The Stafford County School Board unanimously approved its Fiscal Year 2024-2025 operating budget during a meeting held on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, in a 6-1 vote. The approved budget, in line with the School Board’s established priorities, aims to support various aspects of educational development without employing descriptive language.
The budget request is $42 million more than last year. Of that, about $19 million would need to come from the Stafford County Board of Supervisors. The total approved budget is $457 million for the 2024-2025 academic year, is slated for submission to the Stafford County Board of Supervisors for final approval.
Notably, 38.4 percent of the school system’s funding is expected to originate from Stafford County.
In conjunction with the Superintendent’s proposed budget, the School Board intends to submit an additional $3.8 million request to the Board of Supervisors. This supplementary allocation is earmarked specifically for the implementation of Phase I of the service staff pay increase.
Furthermore, the approved budget outlines provisions for staffing standards, intending to allocate educators and support staff across the division based on school population and student needs. Financial resources will also be differentially allocated to schools based on need, aiming to ensure meaningful post-secondary outcomes for all students.
Maureen Siegmund, Chair of the School Board, emphasized the pivotal role of Stafford Schools within the community. She highlighted the significance of various stakeholders, including service employees, business partners, and teachers, in fostering community growth and student development.
Despite the county’s burgeoning population, the proportion of funding from Stafford County allocated to the school system has experienced a consistent decline over the past decade, falling from 45% in 2011 to 37.87% in 2024. The FY25 funding request seeks to address this trend by proposing an increase of $18.8 million or 12%.
The School Board is scheduled to present its adopted budget to the Stafford County Board of Supervisors on February 27, followed by a joint work session on March 7. The Board of Supervisors will finalize its tax rate on April 2, while the School Board is slated to adopt its final FY25 budget on April 23, contingent upon receiving final allocations from the county and state budgets.
Although budget approval is an annual process, the FY25 School Board Approved Budget is aligned with the Superintendent’s proposed 5-year budget and division strategic plan, “Elevate Stafford”.
