The Fiscal Year 2022 Proposed Budget presented to the Board of Supervisors on March 2, 2021, included information and projections available at the time. Since then, the General Assembly passed a budget alongside the Federal Government passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). These actions and many other indicators provide the Board with better information to consider a vote on a budget for FY2022.
More importantly, the Superintendent and the School Board based their budget requests on the Governor's Budget, including a one-time 2% bonus. The recently approved General Assembly (GA) budget consists of a 5% raise for teachers. The Schools look to receive an approximately $5.7M increase in funding from the state which was unknown before the County Administrator presented the Proposed Budget. This increased funding allows the Board several different options regarding the transfer to the Schools while still exceeding the Superintendent's budget request.
With the passage of the ARPA, the Schools and the County expect to receive funding as part of emergency assistance to address the continuing impact of COVID-19 in our schools and communities. The Schools are expecting $14M in additional funding, with the County expecting $29M spread out over two years.
At a $0.97 rate, the current real estate tax rate, the School Board can (1) provide a minimum 5% raise; (2) realize all the teacher scale enhancements in the Superintendent and School Board's Budget Request; (3) provide $1.4M in Service Scale enhancements and (4) provide an additional $1.2M over the Superintendent's budget for the School Board to provide for additional Service Scale enhancements or additional Social Service positions. In summary, the School transfer, as proposed at the $0.97 rate, would provide $1.2M more than the Superintendent's requested budget and $2.8M over what would have been provided under the County Administrator's Proposed Budget at $1.01.
The budget calendar has the Board scheduled to adopt the budget on April 20. All meetings are open to the public with COVID-19 protocols and capacity limits still in place.
Upcoming meeting:
April 20, 2021, 7:00 p.m. – Adoption of FY22 Budget, CY21 tax rates, CIP, Virginia Public School Authority Debt Issuance, Cigarette Tax, Utilities Water and Sewer Rate Increase
All meetings are currently scheduled to be held at the George L. Gordon, Jr., Government Center, 1300 Courthouse Road, Stafford, VA 22554. More information may be found at www.staffordcountyva.gov/budget. If attending, please wear a face covering and adhere to social distancing protocols.