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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Schools
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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.
Germanna Community College announced an expansion in Stafford County with the purchase of its new $15 million Stafford Center of Educational Excellence at Center Street.
Two buildings, named the Barbara J. Fried Center at 10 Center Street and the Kevin L. Dillard Health Sciences Center at 25 Center Street, totaling over 74,000 square feet, both just off Route 610 in North Stafford, will meet Germanna’s space requirements in Stafford for the foreseeable future, said Jack Rowley, president of GCC’s Real Estate Foundation. “This purchase will help Germanna to double student enrollment in the critically needed Allied Health Services – especially nursing,” he said. In addition, Germanna will be expanding cybersecurity, IT, general education, and dual enrollment programs.
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With Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration looking to tighten accreditation standards for the state’s public schools, 98 of 107 schools in Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park met full state accreditation requirements for the 2022-23 school year.
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The Potomac Shores Middle School library is named for Hilda Barg, a longtime elected official from Woodbridge.
Residents and elected officials gathered at the school, 17851 Woods View Drive near Dumfries, for a dedication ceremony on October 6. About 100 poeple attended.
Go to Potomac Shores Middle School library dedicated to longtime public servant Hilda Barg
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George Mason University was the last school of higher learning in Virginia to announce a tuition freeze after weeks of Younkin pushing schools across the state to leave costs flat amid rising inflation.
George Mason operates its base campus in Fairfax, and a satellite campus in Prince William County, just outside Manassas, focused on science and technology.
(FREE LANCE-STAR/METERED PAYWALL) — Stafford County Public Schools this week took steps to strengthen its partnership with local elected officials by holding its first legislative summit.
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(INSIDENOVA) — Over 100 Stratford University students packed the school’s Alexandria campus Monday afternoon, looking for answers about their future after the for-profit college announced Friday that it would be closing all three of its local campuses by the end of the week.