REVENUE

What are the major sources of revenue for the school division each fiscal year?

The school division receives a large portion of its annual funding from the County of Stafford (the “county”), which derives most of its income from real and personal property taxes. In FY 2022, the school division received about 39.69% of its revenue from the county, 58.78% from the state, .83% from the federal government and .70% from miscellaneous sources. The school division relies heavily on funding received from the county and the state (which depend on the economy), as combined federal and miscellaneous funding comprises only 1.8% of the total school operating budget for FY 2024.

How much revenue is generated by a one-cent real property tax increase?

A one-cent real property tax increase generates approximately $2,265,000 in new revenue for the county.

What is the “composite index” and how does it impact revenue?

The Composite Index is a ratio used by the Commonwealth of Virginia to determine each locality’s ability to pay for education. It is calculated every two years and is calculated based on the true value of real property (weighted 50%), adjusted gross income (weighted 40%) and taxable retail sales (weighted 10%) for the locality. The Composite Index determines how much money the state will provide to the school division to fund the Virginia Standards of Quality (SOQ) requirements. The SOQ requirements are state mandates for the numbers and types of teacher positions required for state accreditation. Stafford County is one of the wealthiest counties in the state relative to other localities, and thus its 2022-2024 Composite Index is calculated as .3411. In counties with less local tax revenue, the state funds more of the cost of the SOQ positions, as the state considers these localities to be less able to fund the mandated SOQ positions on their own.

EXPENDITURES

How does the school division spend its annual budget?

Education is a “people business” with more than 85% of the school division annual operating fund budget spent on salary and benefits for 4,216.77 full-time equivalent employees and the remaining 15% of the annual operating budget spent on operational support costs. In FY 2024, the school division proposes to spend its budgeted funding sources on the following expenditure categories:

• 73.66% for instruction;
• 5.13% for administration, attendance, and health;
• 6.90% for transportation and school food service;
• 7.83% for operation and maintenance and facilities;
• 0.22% for debt service;
• 5.71% for technology; and
• 0.55% for contingencies and transfers.

What are “unfunded mandates”?

An unfunded mandate is something the state or federal government requires a Local Educational Agency (LEA) to do without providing all of the related funding. An example of a federal unfunded mandate is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA is for mandated special education, staffing standards, and related services. It was originally intended to fund 40% of program costs to provide a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to students with disabilities. In actuality, the school division receives a much smaller portion of the total program costs incurred from implementing this regulation. Affected programs include:

• transition services in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs);

• training and implementation for Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs); and

• special transportation to Private Day School placements.

BUDGET PROCESS

How does student enrollment impact the annual budget?

Student enrollment affects the school division’s annual budget in two ways: (1) the amount of money received from the state based on “Average Daily Membership” and (2) employee staffing. The school division receives state funding based on the number of students attending each of our schools based on “Average Daily Membership” on March 31st. Student enrollment also determines the number of employees needed to be hired, as well as the students receiving services mandated by state or federal law, such as English Language Learners or Special Education Services. The more students enrolled in our schools and required to receive special education services, the more teachers that must be hired and the more buses and bus drivers that are needed to transport students, resulting in an increased annual budget.

How does education impact our community’s economy?

The quality of public schools has become a critical “location factor” for new businesses, relocating companies, and relocating families. The economic vitality of the county depends upon public education because its most valued features are attributable to the quality of its public schools:

• shape the basic skills, soft skills, and attitudes of the local work force;

• play a role in both quality of life and the ability to relocate professional talent within a community;

• provide sufficient numbers of prospective employees with required work force skill sets; and

• attract education-minded families who typically have higher incomes.

How many people does the school division employ and in what types of jobs?

The school division is currently the second largest employer in Stafford County and for FY 2024, the school division is budgeting more than 4,700 people in teaching, administration, and support staff positions. The breakdown by category or type of position budgeted for FY 2024:

• 2,442.80 teachers - general, gifted, and special education teachers, counselors, library media specialists, and coaches;
• 814.72 paraprofessionals - general education and special education, daily subs;
• 626.35 bus drivers, attendants, and other transportation and cafeteria employees;
• 290.04 administrative support;
• 243.66 administrators - principals, assistant principals, directors, supervisors, and coordinators;
• 111.50 facilities, maintenance, and custodial employees;
• 154.27 speech pathologists, therapists, interpreters, nurses, and psychologists;
• 62.00 technology – computer specialists and technicians; and
• 5.00 other support staff.

Does the Board of Supervisors have specific oversight of the school division budget?

Per the Constitution of Virginia, the School Board has the authority over how the annual budget for the school division is spent and which instructional positions and programs are funded. The Board of Supervisors authorizes the total amount of funding for the school division, but does not have any specific “line-item” authority over the individual items included in the school division’s annual budget.

Why can’t the school division cut administrative functions and non-instructional positions and programs to fund more teacher positions and instructional programs?

Hiring enough highly qualified teachers is always a major concern, but school administration and support is critical for quality teaching and instructional programming to continue. Our teachers need support, including human resources, payroll, supplies, staff hiring, test supervision, curriculum development, training, etc. In addition, we need our non-teaching positions, such as custodians, bus drivers, food service workers, and principals, to enable our schools to operate in an efficient and effective manner throughout the entire school year.

How has the school division improved its budget process to ensure that such a large amount of unspent year-end salary and benefits savings lapse will not recur in the future?

The school division used actual contracted salaries and benefits to establish a budget baseline at the beginning of the budget development process. As a result, the most current salaries and benefits information available was used to develop the FY 2024 Budget. In addition, the departmental and school budget request process and reduction strategies were improved through better (focused and more frequent) communication between budget staff and the schools and departments. Lastly, a distributed workflow was implemented to provide additional checks and balances.