In Prince William County, nearly $2 billion is being divided behind the scenes. Those decisions affect what the community will experience throughout the year. 

FY2026 and FY2027 Budget Plan

PWCS’s current budget plan for July 2025 through June 2026 focuses on staff pay, program improvements, inclusion initiatives, and extra academic advancements.  

A key component of this plan, according to the Prince William County official website, is an increase in teacher salaries. This proposal outlines a two-year plan: In the first year, the teacher will receive a 7 percent pay raise; in the second year, they will receive a 6.4 percent pay raise. 

This program also allocates money to hire additional staff, strengthening student support systems, including “50 new special education teacher assistants, 15 behavior specialists, and eight graduation coaches to support at-risk students.”  

Additionally, PWCS is investing in academic success and student well-being by dedicating funding towards the “Learning and Achievement for All Initiatives,” a program designed to ensure students receive the skills needed for success.  

PWCS’s future budget plan continues to invest more funds in staff. The proposal includes a salary increase of about 6.5% for teachers; 6.2% for supporting staff; and 5.24% for administrators. These increases are intended to keep up with the competition for salaries in education around the area.  

The budget plan directs $60.8 million toward four main areas: Learning and Achievement for All, Positive Climate and Culture, Family and Community Engagement, and Organizational Coherence. 

The Learning and Achievement for All area is a structured approach to ensure that students acquire the knowledge and skills needed for personal, social, and economic success.  

The Positive Climate and Culture program is for ensuring that children are in an inclusive and supportive environment where they feel safe.  

The Family and Community Engagement is an initiative that aims to involve families and communities. Families, schools, and communities work together to support children’s learning environments.  

The Organizational Coherence aims to create a unified environment through fostering a data-driven culture and making sure all admins understand their roles.  

Moreover, the plan specifically dedicates funding towards other things, such as an increase in special education support, the divisions of universal pre-K rollout, and adapted learning towards augmented and virtual reality. 

The Universal pre-K rollout is a program to ensure that all younger students get a proper four-year education regardless of their grade, skill, or family income. The goal of this program is to close the gap between children with different salary level demographics.   

Retired employees have become a topic of discussion and are included in the plan as well. PWCS is proposing to put almost $2,000,000 towards retired employees to give relief and support through the Retired Opportunity program.  

Furthermore, technology has also become a big factor in education and daily life. PWCS wants to offer almost $3.4 million in infrastructure technology. This includes things such as artificial intelligence tools and digital learning platforms. In addition, they will be adding adapted learning towards augmented and virtual reality. 

Overall, the PWCS FY2027 plan aims to improve education quality, support teachers, and prepare schools for future growth, while uniting the community through decision-making. 

Proposed Revenue Cuts

A new proposal to cut funds is being discussed as well. Many of the supervisors are conversing about taxes. According to InsideNova, the proposal includes “a new real estate tax of “85 cents per $100 in assessed value– a sharp decrease from the initial rate of 90.6 cents per $100.”  

The proposal would cause a “$145 decrease in the average residential tax bill, but would cause a 2.8% revenue deduction, or about $48.6 million, according to David Sinclair, the county’s budget director.” 

Not only that, but the Fairfax County Board has also proposed a 3% meals tax, which would cut almost $31 million dollars from the funds and raise the computer and peripherals revenue tax. 

Lateef commented on these taxes on InsideNova. “When you’re cutting $31 million this year, that’s not just a one-year cut. That’s over the life of my new strategic plan. Four years – that’s $120 million less that we’re going to get to fund the programs we want,” Lateef said.  

Patriot High School Student Opinion 

Rachel Yoho (‘27), a junior at Patriot High School, has just learned about the student budget plans for FY2026 and FY2027.  

When educated on the pay raise for teachers, Yoho (‘27) was asked how this would affect her learning. She stated that she feels like we would “feel like they have more responsibility…to be more passionate in their teaching and lessons [which would enhance student experience].  

Many students at Patriot High School (PHS) reflected a similar stance to Yoho’s (‘27) statement. A survey conducted at PHS revealed that 82 percent of the participants believe that a higher raise for teachers will create a positive impact on their classroom experience. 

Yoho (‘27) conveyed that she feels as if the schools, if not taxed, could put the money into something more worthwhile, after learning about the 3% tax on meals and computers.  

Two juniors at PHS, Noor Shaikh (‘27) and Ninette Essuman (‘27), agreed with Yoho’s (‘27) statement. Shaikh (‘27) said that schools “need all of the resources they can get to allow them to succeed to their fullest…less funds for schools would impact the kids who need extra help the most.” 

Essuman (‘27) explained that “while PWCS is on the larger scale of Virginia education systems, we do [PWCS] have our flaws with not having enough teachers or resources. It’s really a struggle to keep bus drivers and teachers in the system. Less funding towards schools potentially means that we might have some classes cut, which is unfair considering we’re already restricted due to not having enough teachers to teach these potential classes.” 

Overall, the proposed budget plan highlights many ongoing discussions and efforts to help support both students and staff. As funding decisions continue to develop, community interactions and input will be a key factor in the district’s priorities.