Spotsylvania County Public Schools must adapt to a changing landscape as the result of a major demographic shift over the past 10 years.
At least, that’s what school officials told the board of supervisors during a meeting Tuesday night to discuss the fiscal year 2026 budget.
According to a presentation from SCPS Chief Financial Officer Phillip Trayer, “Spotsylvania’s economic conditions and our student demographics are fundamentally changing.”
While enrollment only slightly increased in the past 10 years — from 23,887 students to 24,055 — English Language Learners (ELL) have jumped 10% in that timeframe.
The division served 1,175 ELL students during the 2014-15 school year but is now serving 3,500, including an additional 1,200 in the past four years.
Economically disadvantaged students increased 11% and now comprise 46% of the division’s enrollment. There were 9,507 economically disadvantaged students 10 years ago, compared to 11,065 now.
Participation in the division’s gifted program dropped slightly from 2,866 a decade ago to 2,646 today. Disabled students increased from 2,456 or 12% of the student population in 2014-15 to 4,022 and 17% currently.
Superintendent Clint Mitchell also noted that five new schools were added to the Community Eligibility Provision program that provides free lunch to all students in a school if it meets certain poverty thresholds.
“It’s very informative and transparent, which I think, not only for us, but also it’s very helpful for our residents and taxpayers to actually see what is going on,” Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors Chair Chris Yakabouski said of the presentation.
School officials noted that it will cost approximately $2 million for 25 additional ELL teachers to meet state Standards of Quality. Supervisor Drew Mullins of the Courtland District inquired if a new federal emphasis on border security would impact those numbers. Mitchell said that the ELL population has remained steady in recent weeks. The division is expected to add 261 ELL students from 2024.
The information was part of the school division’s presentation to the supervisors breaking down its overall $495 million budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year.
County Administrator Ed Petrovich recommended a $15.3 million local transfer to the school division and $47.7 million for capital improvements. There is a funding gap of $20.8 million. Petrovich plans to lessen the shortfall this fiscal year with an $11.7 million transfer and an additional $3.6 million in debt service.
Mitchell reiterated to the supervisors and the two school board members who participated in the meeting — Chair Megan Jackson and Vice Chair Belen Rodas — that the entire funding gap of more than $46 million will be tackled over the next two to three years.
“We are at the beginning stages of a two-to-three-year process and whatever we did not address in the budget this year, it will be a priority [in FY27] … particularly with transportation, technology and maintenance,” Mitchell said. “We have not put as much as we would have liked in this FY26 budget.”
The supervisors still must approve Petrovich’s recommended budget.
The next step in the budget process is a board of supervisors work session Tuesday at 5 p.m., when they’ll make a decision on the advertised tax rate. After that decision is made, the final tax rate can be decreased but not increased from that number. A public hearing on the county budget, tax rate and Capital Improvement Plan will be held April 1 at 5 p.m. Courtland High School. The final budget can be adopted as early as April 22 and as late as April 28.
Last week, Petrovich proposed a $953 million county budget — $131.3 more than last year — without increasing the real estate tax rate from 73 cents per $100 of assessed value.
