Comments Sought on Schools Smaller 2015 Budget

STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. — The Stafford County School Board met with parents and community members on Oct. 29 to address their concerns about the FY2015 school budget, and ask parents for their feedback.

“This is your opportunity to talk about what you feel is the important things within our budget,” said Stephanie Johnson, Board member in the Aquia district.

The school system’s proposed budget for the next year is $252 million. As budgets are tight, some parents are concerned that Stafford schools are not being adequately funded to the same levels as their neighbors to the north in Prince William and Fairfax counties where school budgets top over $1 billion.

“We know that it’s a difficult economic time for all government systems – we’re not unique. We all know times are tough,” said Interim Schools Superintendent William Symons, Jr.

Now, schools officials say they receive less money from Stafford County’s annual budget.

“While our percentage of that mass [revenue] amount goes up, the actual amount continues to go down. In 2004, we were at 59.59% of the entire county budget. In 2014, we are at 53.1%. So although it looks as though they’re giving us more money year after year, as a percentage of the entire budget, it tells a different story,” School Board Chairman Stephanie Johnson said.

And while funding has gone down in recent years, another issue the schools face is the continual growth in the population of school-aged children in the county.

“We’re losing funding from the state, as well as losing funding as a percentage of the revenue from the local government. So we’re getting hit at both ends, and it makes it problematic, because we are still a growing community and our schools continue to grow; unlike some other schools that are staying very stagnant,” said Nannette Kidby, School Board member in the Garrisonville district.

According to Johnson, in the past few years alone the school system has absorbed 400 new students without any additional resources.

One way that the Board felt the community could make an impact was by asking people to be vocal and advocate for more funding in next year’s FY2015 budget.

“Our board has tried to think of many different ways of how to communicate to get our point across [to the Board of Supervisors] but at the end of the day, it’s the voice of the community that makes the difference,” said Dana Reinboldt, School Board Member in the Griffis-Widewater district.

Johnson also stressed the importance of being aware of the facts surrounding the needs of the school when advocating for the school system to the County board.

Holly Hazard, School Board Member of the Hartwood District, feels that once the Superintendent search is complete in the coming months, that it will be the right opportunity to get momentum for a push for more funding of Stafford schools. “I believe through that process of when that person is selected, and taken out into the community, and meeting in the community, I hope we use that opportunity as a Board to also educate as part of that process,” Hazard said.

The Board also fielded questions on a wide ranges of issues raised by parents, including school transportation, recreational sports and extracurricular activities and swelling class sizes.