A popular high school band music event will enter its 11th year.
The bands will perform all military service songs and are the first to include the Space Force. The grand finale will include bands from all five high schools performing together.
Schools
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Updated 4 p.m. — Nearly 700 students were absent today from classes at Stafford High School.
School officials say may students tested positive for influenza, and reported gastrointestinal issues. The latter may be due to a separate illness, said school division spokeswoman Sandra Osborn.
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By Tyler Arnold
(The Center Square) – Although the Virginia Department of Education unveiled new guidelines on transgender issues they say give power back to parents, enforcing those rules in school districts could be a bumpy road.
About 1,000 students at Stafford High School fell ill.
According to Stafford County Public Schools spokeswoman Sandra Osborn, the students are out sick with absent with flu-like/gastrointestinal symptoms.
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The Prince William County Planning Commission approved a location for a new elementary school in Woodbridge. Construction crews will build the on about 10 acres on the north side of Prince William Parkway near the intersection of Route 1.
The school will have three stories to accommodate 631 students. The purpose is to relieve overcrowding at several elementary schools, such as Featherstone, Kilby, and Marumsco elementary schools.
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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.
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Prince William County Public Schools has a new brand from its CEO.
Prince William County Schools Superintendent Dr. LaTanya McDade displayed the new logo for Virginia’s second-largest school division.
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[caption id="attachment_177486" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Photo: Stafford County Public Schools[/caption]
Photo: Stafford County Public Schools[/caption]
Stafford County Public Schools has requested that Virginia give its teachers a raise to make the jurisdiction more competitive with neighboring counties.
COCA, otherwise known as Cost of Competing Adjustment, is given to counties by the state to adjust salary differences for support and teaching staff between localities. The funding for counties is based on average salary and population, which are currently expected to rise higher over the next decade in Stafford County.
According to the school division, Stafford is the third-fastest growing county in Virginia and has increased by 10 percent over the last decade. Despite that growth, the school division only receives the adjustment funding that matches 25 percent of its annual budget.
Nine school divisions in Northern Virginia are granted 100 percent of COCA funding, making it hard for Stafford County to remain competitive in retaining teaching staff and support personnel.
Nearby localities such as Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County receive only 25 percent of the funding.
On average, Stafford teachers make $10,000 less than teachers in nearby Prince William County, which is among the nine counties that receive 100 percent funding.
Many teachers who begin their teaching careers in Stafford schools often stay long enough to gain experience and then leave for higher salaries in other school divisions.
According to the Superintendent's Annual Report for Virginia for Fiscal Year 2021, Stafford County spends $11,982 in per pupil expenditures from an annual budget of $350,149,101 for FY 2021.
Prince William County, for example, spends $13,425 in per-pupil expenditures. This puts SCPS' per pupil expenditures lower than any of the Northern Virginia counties that receive a 100 percent match of COCA funding.
"The intent of COCA was to recognize the higher costs that division incur due to more competitive markets. The Northern Virginia labor market drives the salary costs higher for these divisions," says Sandra Osborn, Stafford schools spokeswoman. " The Division is pushing for the change in the COCA allocation now effective for the Fiscal Year 2024, based on their legislative priorities."
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As Prince William County Public Schools get closer to passing a collective bargaining agreement, it’s clear how much it will cost taxpayers to allow teachers to wrangle over pay.
“It’s entirely reasonable to expect it will be seven figures,” said school division attorney Wade T. Anderson. Gainesville District School Board member Jennifer Wall pressed him for a a firm estimate, but he couldn’t provide it.
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On October 7, the School Resource Officer (SRO) assigned to Rippon Middle School, at 15101 Blackburn Road in Woodbridge, concluded an investigation into an assault that occurred in a classroom on September 22.
The investigation revealed during class, a male student made a homophobic slur towards the victim, another 13-year-old male student, before riping and removing the child’s facemask.