Stafford County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Kizner presented the proposed Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) budget to the Stafford County School Board on Tuesday, January 26, 2021. The proposed FY22 budget reinforces Stafford County Public Schools unwavering commitment to Equity with Excellence for All students.
“We are projecting approximately 29,700 students in FY22. This proposed budget ensures we are closer to meeting the needs of every single one,” said Kizner. “It also honors the teaching profession and recognizes the value of our teachers whose loyalty must be recognized and appreciated.”
Teaching and Learning is the heart and soul of our daily actions and decisions. More than 75% of the budget is allocated to instruction. This focus provides for the creation of 54 new positions, including 18 teachers, 6 paraprofessionals, 2 online learning coordinators, 2 work-based learning coordinators, and other support staff.
“We are an extremely diverse school division. We must have the right teachers in the right places and provide our students with equitable access to programs and learning,” said Kizner. “Adding these positions will address equity, learning gaps, opportunities, and growth for all students.”
During his presentation to the school board, Kizner noted that the turnover rate for teachers in SCPS has declined over the last three years. He explained that the division wants to continue with this favorable trend and also make sure it attracts world class talent.
“Our teachers are extremely loyal, and they must be recognized for that loyalty. One way we can do that is to adjust our pay scale and make it competitive with regional compensation,” Kizner said. “We also need to honor their work and studies to not only become a teacher, but also recognize they are lifelong learners who are passionate about educating our children to the best of their abilities. To do this, we will invest in staff education through an extended tuition assistance program and the introduction of an education loan payment assistance plan.”
The proposed budget enhances both the teacher and service salary scales. $10.1 million is targeted for providing teacher increases ranging from 5.0% to 9.4% with an average raise of 7.2%. Service staff and administrators will receive a minimum 5% increase. Additionally, $1.4 million is allocated to service staff based on years of experience to progress toward the midpoint of the market.
To achieve these priorities the Superintendent proposed a School Operating Fund totaling $340 million an increase of $17 million, or 5.25%, over the FY21 adopted budget.
