n LOUDOUN
4 | n LEESBURG
VOL. 9, NO. 11
8 | n EDUCATION
10 | n PUBLIC NOTICES
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Spence Presents $1.8B Proposed Budget BY ALEXIS GUSTIN
agustin@loudounnow.com
Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Aaron Spence last week presented a $1.8 billion budget to the new School Board. The spending plan seeks an overall 9.4% increase over the current budget and an increase of $131 million, 11.3%, in local tax funding. Spence said despite the projected enrollment for FY25 showing only a 1.1% growth from this year’s actual student count, the opening of two new schools this fall—Henrietta Lacks Elementary and Watson Mountain Middle School— will require a net increase of 60 full-time equivalent staff and about $7.5 million. Spence addressed what he said was a budget myth surrounding low or flat enrollment growth and bigger budgets. He said the main budget drivers includes personnel cost, with this year’s annual step increase in pay scales expected to cost $26 million without an increase in enrollment. He also pointed to inflation, mandated changes to the Virginia Retirement System, an increase in healthcare costs and an increase in operating costs like fuel, utilities and construction costs that add to budget increases without enrollment going up. He also talked about the changing needs in the student population—and the staff and costs associated with them. “Despite relatively flat enrollment, our student body continues to change with students who require additional resources which continue to outpace division growth,” he said, adding that the English learner population is projected to grow
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JANUARY 25, 2024
School Budget 2025:
Beyond Enrollment Growth BY NORMAN K. STYER AND ALEXIS GUSTIN nstyer@loudounnow.com agustin@loudounnow.com
Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now
Superintendent Aaron Spence presented his $1.8 billion budget to the School Board on Jan. 18. His budget included $25.3 million in new positions, $118.2 million for recruiting and staff retention and $12.9 million for new and ongoing initiatives.
6.4%, special education is expected to grow 4.1%, and the economically disadvantaged population is expected to grow 1.8% in FY2025. He said 114.3 teachers and teacher assistants would be needed to support those students—about 40% of the new positions in the FY25 budget. He also said the division was adding 72.8 positions at the school level to support school-based initiatives including a new alternative school, transitioning the new STEP preschool program to full day, and providing additional student support specialists. Spence asked for 26 fulltime equivalent
positions for division support including support for investigations in the Title IX office, digital security and technology support positions, and positions in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Office. Spence said 92.1% of the request for new FTEs are school based while 7.9% are administrative. He said that historically the percentage of division staff being non-school based administrators has been below 1.5% and SCHOOLS BUDGET continues on page 28
For decades, increases in the Loudoun County Public Schools budget were driving the booming enrollment in one of the nation’s fastest growing localities. However, as enrollment has plateaued in recent years, the school division’s budget growth has not. Superintendent Aaron Spence last week proposed a $1.8 billion fiscal year 2025 budget, seeking a 9.4% year-over-year spending increase in a year when fewer than 1,000 additional students are expected. If this year’s enrollment projection pans out, there still will be slightly fewer students than the division served prior to the pandemic. Yet, since the fiscal year 2019 budget, the cost of school operations has increased 53%. The division’s per-pupil cost has increased at the same rate, from $14,390 to $21,975 under the superintendent’s proposal. Over the past five years enrollment did increase, from 82,485 during the 2018-19 school year to BEYOND GROWTH continues on page 28
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