Prince William Schools Propose New Administrators to Address Student Discipline Issues

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Prince William County Public Schools Superintendent LaTanya McDade unveiled a proposed $1.8 billion budget for the upcoming school year on February 5, which includes plans to hire 33 new deans of students focused on enhancing discipline in middle and high schools.

The new budget, reflecting an increase of $111.3 million compared to the current fiscal year, is largely supported by a 6% rise in funding from both state and county sources. The infusion of funds aims to strengthen educational outcomes and address ongoing discipline concerns across the district.

“The new deans will relieve assistant principals from the day-to-day responsibilities of overseeing student behavior, allowing them to concentrate on teacher coaching and student instruction,” McDade stated. The deans will specifically be tasked with investigating behavior incidents and ensuring uniform disciplinary measures are enforced across all schools.

Recent audit findings revealed inconsistencies in the disciplinary responses to similar student behaviors, with McDade attributing these disparities to the overwhelming workload faced by school administrators. “What we’re seeing is that administrators are stretched thin, and that’s where we get the inconsistency,” she explained.

School board members expressed consensus on the necessity of adding the dean positions. “It’s a great move to ensure discipline is consistent across the board,” said board member Justin Wilk. Tracy Blake agreed, stating that adding deans is “a good way to free up administrators for our core business.”

Other proposed positions include 50 new special education classroom aides, nearly 40 English language instructors, five kindergarten classroom aides, 15 behavioral specialists, and eight graduation coaches. The addition of these roles is part of a broader strategy to accommodate the needs of the district’s diverse student body.

Currently, nearly 24,000 of the district’s 90,709 students are learning English, and the new English language instructors are expected to help meet state-mandated teacher-to-student ratios for this growing demographic.

Despite the budget expansion, the school division anticipates a decline in enrollment, projecting next year’s total to be around 89,442 students, representing a decrease of about 1,200 students from the current figures. By 2028, enrollment may drop to about 86,000 students based on existing projections.

This budget proposal raises per-student spending to over $18,000—an increase of about $1,700 and the highest ever recorded in the district. McDade noted that the increase in spending reflects the growing population of students with higher needs, including those qualifying for special education and economically disadvantaged students.

Approximately $83.2 million of the budget is allocated for staff pay increases, which includes an average raise of about 6.8% for teachers and administrators, and 7.4% for support staff. This increment is part of ongoing efforts to make salaries competitive with neighboring school districts.

Additionally, the budget will enable starting teacher salaries to increase to $65,000 by the 2026-27 school year, aiming to both recruit and retain qualified personnel.

The school board will host a public meeting to discuss the proposed budget on February 10 at 6 p.m. at the Edward L. Kelly Administration Building, followed by a public hearing on February 19. A budget work session is scheduled for March 12, with the final budget vote expected on March 19.