Stafford County Supervisor Deuntay Diggs will hold his first town hall meeting on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Stafford High School.
Diggs represents the George Washington District, said he’ll be joined by elected School Board member, Susan Randall, also of George Washington, as well as residents whom Diggs appointed to several county boards and commissions.
“I am delighted to introduce to you the esteemed team representing the George Washington District! Our inaugural town hall meeting is scheduled for March 27th at 6:00pm, hosted at Stafford High School in the auditorium. Your presence and participation are highly valued as we embark on this journey together. Thank you for entrusting us with the privilege to serve,” Diggs posted to Facebook.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. with opening remarks from Diggs, State Senator Tara Durant (R-27, Stafford, Fredericksburg), Delegate Joshua Cole (D-65, Stafford, Fredericksburg), Randall, and Dr. Brad Hatch from the Patowomeck Tribe.
After introducing the various board and commission appointees, Diggs will take questions from the audience until 8 p.m.
Diggs is a Stafford sheriff’s deputy, and the town hall meeting comes as five people who police said work for a Charlottesville towing company assaulted two cops at a south Stafford McDonalds and were set free hours later by a county magistrate.
Other types of crime in the county are up, too. Diggs’ boss, Sheriff David Decatur, said the number of police chases his deputies respond to in the county has increased, as local police agencies in Northern Virginia chose not to pursue suspects who are eventually stopped in Stafford.
Meanwhile, the Board of Supervisors is working to finalize its FY2025 budget, with final adoption expected next month. Supervisors have advertised a lower Real Estate tax rate used to fund county government operations, but tax bills are expected to rise due to higher home assessments, up at least 13% over the past two years.
School officials said the county’s budget is about $2 million short of what it needs to fund schools for the coming year fully.
Diggs was elected to replace Tom Coen, who served on the Board of Supervisors since 2018.
"The Superintendent and School Board provided tangible ways to improve student outcomes, urging legislators to provide Stafford County with increased funding necessary to support high expectations for student performance, provide a safe, positive learning environment, and provide better conditions to recruit, retain and develop staff. Additional discussion focused on the need for a reduction in the burden of unfunded mandates and inefficient government practices."
"Stafford Schools urged legislators to consider Virginia’s K-12 funding formula to provide a more accurate cost of education in the local area, and to provide for additional local sales and use taxes for school construction or renovation. The School Board encouraged elimination of support position caps to allow an increase in Basic Aid funding. To support the advocation of increased funding, school administrators laid out changes to Standards of Quality caps that would provide for an increase in counselors. psychologists, social workers, assistant principals, English Language Learner teachers, and Work Based Learning coordinators.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
The General Election in Virginia on Tuesday, November 7, saw changes in representation for the State Senate.
This was the first election held under newly drawn political districts by the Virginia State Supreme Court in 2021.
Here is the list of winners in Stafford County:
Virginia State Senate — Elections every four years
District 29 (Central Prince William County, Woodbridge, North Stafford)
Winner: Jeremy McPike (D)
McPike has served in the state senate since 2016. He defeated Republican Nikki Rattray Baldwin by 12 points. The majority of this district is made up of Prince William County residents.
District 27 (Central Staford County, Fredericksburg, portion of Spotsylvania County)
Winner: Tara A. Durant (R)
Durant will move from the House of Delegates, where she was elected to serve in 2021, to the state senate. Durant beat Democrat Joel Griffin by two points. Independent Monica Gary, a Stafford County Supervisor, also ran for the seat. She received about five percent of the vote.
We’ll have more election recap information regarding the House of Delegates and Board of County Supervisors soon.
