MEETING MINUTES Stafford County School Board - Presentation of FY21 - - PDF document

Approved by the School Board on April 14, 2020. P a g e 1

MEETING MINUTES

Stafford County School Board

• Presentation of FY21 Funding Request to Board of Supervisors -

March 3, 2020 7:00 p.m.

Board of Supervisors Chambers 1300 Courthouse Road // Stafford, Virginia 22554

School Board Members Present Board of Supervisors Members Present Holly Hazard, Chair (Hartwood District) Meg Bohmke, Chair (Falmouth District)

• Dr. Sarah Chase (Falmouth District)

Tom Coen, Vice-Chair (George Washington District) Patricia Healy (Rock Hill District) Tinesha Allen (Griffis-Widewater District) Susan Randall (George Washington District) Mark Dudenhefer (Garrisonville District)

• Dr. Elizabeth Warner (Griffis-Widewater District)

Cindy Shelton (Aquia District)

• R. Pamela Yeung (Garrisonville District)

Gary Snellings (Hartwood District) Crystal Vanuch (Rock Hill District) School Board Vice-Chairwoman Irene Hollerback (Aquia District) was absent. During the regular meeting of the board of supervisors (“Supervisors”), and on behalf of the school board, Dr. Sarah Chase presented to the Supervisors the school board’s FY21 funding request. She began by highlighting the successes achieved this school year which directly resulted from the collaboration on the FY20 budget between the school board and the Supervisors:  A 5% across-the-board salary increase for all school division staff;  Service employee market enhancements (Phase I);  Enhancements to the nurse pay scale;  Mid-year bus driver recruitment and retention initiatives;  A number of additional new positions, including:

• 27 general education teachers (to address growth in the student population);
• 11 school counselors (to meet the social/emotional needs of students) – as mandated

by changes to the Virginia Standards of Quality; and

• 9 teachers and 11 paraprofessionals for Special Education;

 Inaugural cohort of the new firefighting program;  Expansion of the biomedical STAT program;  Receipt of a grant for a 21st Century Community Learning Center;  Receipt of an Advancing Computer Science Education grant; and  Receipt of a grant for a pilot after-school dual language program at Conway and Moncure Elementary Schools. In the area of capital improvement, Dr. Chase expressed the school board’s appreciation to the Supervisors and County staff for helping to ensure that the new Moncure Elementary School and North

FY21 Funding Request Presentation to the Board of Supervisors March 3, 2019

Approved by the School Board on April 14, 2020. P a g e 2 Star Early Childhood Education Center were both opened on time at the start of this school year. She reported further that the renovation to Ferry Farm Elementary School is well underway. Also, due to the Supervisors’ recent approval for the reappropriation of FY19 year-end funds, the school division is now in the process of retrofitting 100 school buses to install much-needed air-conditioning; the school division’s antiquated telephone system will soon be replaced; and air-conditioning will be installed in several school kitchens during the coming summer months.

• Dr. Chase then explained the factors which are driving the FY21 school division budget. This includes:

 Exponential growth in student enrollment As the county administrator reported in his budget presentation to the Supervisors several weeks ago, Stafford County is now the second-fastest growing county in the Commonwealth (behind Loudoun County) and has the second highest per-capita enrollment amongst all Virginia public school systems (behind Prince William County). In fact, our enrollment has almost doubled over the past 25 years. In the current school year (2019-2020), Stafford’s K-12 enrollment grew by 671 students over the previous year. Projections indicate that we should expect an increase next year of 699 students over this year.  A nationwide teacher shortage There is a chronic shortage of teachers across the nation. It is an extremely competitive recruiting market. Across the U.S., the number of college students entering and graduating from teaching degree programs has steadily declined. For example, the Virginia Department of Education has reported that only 60 individuals graduated with teaching credentials in secondary mathematics from Virginia colleges and universities this year. Our school division will need 192 math teachers next school year. We need to retain every math teacher we currently employ and then add more. In addition to recruitment challenges, we also face retention

• challenges. Last year, 224 licensed staff resigned or retired. The cost to recruit and train a new

teacher is approximately $10,000.  Changing student demographics Our student body is becoming more diverse. The majority of our student population is now made up of minorities. The percentage of students who identify as English Learners has increased from 9% to 11% since last year alone. There are 89 different languages represented in

• ur student community. Our percentage of students with disabilities currently aligns roughly

with both the state and national averages (around 13%). We expect to see an increase of around 169 new students in next year’s enrollment of students with disabilities. Special education teaching positions are the second-hardest to fill (after math positions). In addition, we have seen an almost three-fold increase over the past four years in the number of children who have 504 Plans. We have also seen a slight increase this school year in the number of economically- disadvantaged students.  Shifts in State expectations The state has introduced new computer science standards for grades K-12. Additionally, the state has made changes to the Code of Conduct and Behavior Modification Plans. And, there have been changes to the Standards of Quality with respect to student-to-teacher ratios for English Language teachers and school counselors.

• Dr. Chase then reviewed the state of funding for the school division over the past 10 years. The majority
• f the funding comes from the State and the County. She noted, however, that the State’s funding has

increased at a higher rate than the County’s funding has done over the past decade. Dr. Chase pointed

• ut that it is the local contribution that determines how competitive our school division will be against
• ther school divisions in the Commonwealth.

FY21 Funding Request Presentation to the Board of Supervisors March 3, 2019

Approved by the School Board on April 14, 2020. P a g e 3

• Mr. Snellings asked if the capital improvement program (CIP) funding provided by the County is included

in the local funding figures cited by Dr. Chase. Dr. Chase stated that they are not.

• Dr. Chase stated that in FY18 (the most recent data available), Stafford County’s per-pupil expenditure

(PPE) ranked very low. We were #122 out of 133 school divisions. How did we get here? The answer to that questions is that in the three years prior to 2018 (FY15, FY16, FY17), the annual increases to local funding did not keep up with the increased rate of student enrollment growth. During this three-year period, the school division took cost-savings measures such as: not providing raises in one year; cutting foreign language offerings; and “making do” with respect to pupil transportation. On a positive note, increases to local funding over the past two years (FY19 and FY20) are now helping us respond to the challenges of accelerating enrollment growth, the teacher shortage, and new/revised expectations from the State. But the school board is still striving to get the school division back on-track.

• Dr. Chase reported that the school board has set three budget priorities for FY21:

 Develop a multi-year plan for increases to the PPE in order to enhance and provide a competitive educational experience for all students;  Fund an across-the-board salary increase, with additional targeted increases to alleviate compression in the salary scale; and  Improve staffing ratios and differentiate the distribution of resources based upon the unique needs and sizes of the student bodies.

• Dr. Chase went on to report that the school board’s proposed FY21 budget is for a grand total of

$332,746,792. This is an increase of 8.9% ($27,364,971) over the FY20 budget. To address growth, new state standards, and programmatic requirements, we will be adding approximately 130 new positions, as outlined below:  44 new general education teachers;  New teachers and other staff in Special Education programs;  New school counselor positions;  5 new positions in the School Safety Office;  New bus driver and bus attendant positions; and  New support positions at the administrative level. The proposed budget also includes the following employee compensation initiatives:  $6.58 million for a 3% across-the-board raise for all staff;  $3 million to enhance and condense the teacher salary scale;  $2.25 million for service scale enhancements;  $1.68 million to cover the Virginia Retirement System increases for current employees; and  $1.25 million for new stipends.

• Dr. Chase explained that the teacher pay scale currently tops out at 39 years. (If left alone, it would to

top out at 40 years in FY21.) To address this compression issue, the school board proposes a three-year plan to condense the pay scale to make it to top out at 30 years. In the first phase (FY21), the scale will be condensed to 36 years. With respect to the proposed new stipends, Dr. Chase stated that the majority of them will be used to attract and retain teachers in the hardest to fill areas (math and special education).

• Dr. Chase also stated that there is an increase of approximately $4.3 million for non-compensation

expenses in the proposed budget. This includes contractual increases, school security enhancements, and the purchase of 15 school buses.

FY21 Funding Request Presentation to the Board of Supervisors March 3, 2019

Approved by the School Board on April 14, 2020. P a g e 4

• Dr. Chase offered the following statistics: 84% of the school division’s budget is spent on employee

compensation and benefits; 76% of the budget is used for student instruction; and approximately 70%

• f the school division’s employees are Stafford County residents and taxpayers.
• Dr. Chase explained that the budget was developed using the following revenue assumptions for FY21:

 There will be an average daily enrollment of 30,050 students in the 2020-2021 school year;  There will be an approximate increase of 9.7% ($16.6 million) to State funding, and of 18.4% ($397,000) to Federal funding;  There will be an increase of approximately $40,000 to other/miscellaneous revenue; and  The school board is requesting an increase of $10,278,701 (8.1%) to local funding from the board of supervisors.

• Dr. Chase closed by stating that the county administrator’s proposed FY21 budget includes an increase
• f only $4,150,128 for the school division’s local funding. This leaves a funding gap of approximately

$6,128,573 for the school board’s budget. However, we are still waiting to receive further information from the State about possible additional State revenue which may narrow the funding gap.

• Dr. Chase thanked the members of the board of supervisors for their consideration of this funding

request and stated that the school board members know that the Supervisors have to weigh a number

• f competing demands for the County’s limited resources. She assured them that the school board

members firmly believe the Supervisors care deeply about the students of our county and will do their best to ensure Stafford County’s public school system is successful. She invited the Supervisors to contact any board member or the superintendent if there are questions about the funding request. Holly H. Hazard, Chair School Board of Stafford County Melissa D. Hall, Clerk of the Board