The Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday night to establish the amounts and categories for a $400.6 million bond referendum to be put before voters in November.
The county typically addresses school, transportation and public safety needs in its bond referendums but has the flexibility to add additional categories. This year, the county is adding $33.7 million for solid waste.
The rest of the totals are $237.3 million for schools; $67.6 million for transportation projects and $62 million for public safety.
Beckie Forrie, the county’s chief financial officer, said bonds are the least expensive way for the county to tackle major projects.
“The bond referendum is important because it gives us the authority to issue bonds the county can then use to fund these large infrastructure projects which are repaid over the useful life of the project, spreading the cost equitably among current and future taxpayers as they receive the benefit of the infrastructure over time,” Forrie said. “This puts less stress on our annual budget compared to cash funding our projects.”
For schools, $184.4 million will go towards capital maintenance and additions, including a new elementary school. A total of $28.5 million will be for technology upgrades and replacements, while $24.2 million will help purchase 113 replacement buses and 10 new buses.
Just like Spotsylvania School Board members Larry DiBella and Rich Lieberman, the board of supervisors questioned Superintendent Clint Mitchell about the removal of a new Career and Technical Center from the referendum. The majority of the school board voted to prioritize a new elementary school along the U.S. Route 1 corridor.
Mitchell said the plan is to ease overcrowding at other elementary schools in that general area. He told Chancellor District Supervisor Gerald Childress, who questioned the removal of the CTE center — which has a waiting list of 500 to 600 students — that one reason for the decision is that there is currently an operable CTE facility with 20 programs near Courtland High School. Mitchell also noted that although a new CTE building won’t be on the ballot, it will remain in the school division’s 2027-31 Capital Improvement Plan.
“What I want this board to understand and the community to understand is while the need is there and it’s important, the bigger need for us as a district right now is addressing the overcrowding in our schools, particularly where we have the highest growth, which is the Route 1 corridor,” Mitchell said.
Transportation initiatives that will be a part of the referendum include improvements to State Route 208 and Smith Station Road ($3.9 million); a Germanna Point Drive extension ($13.9 million); the widening of State Routes 2 and 17 ($16.5 million); the widening of Harrison Road ($18.9 million); a roundabout at Old Plank and Andora Roads ($3.5 million); rural road safety improvements ($10 million); and the Transportation Alternatives Program ($695,367).
The county’s public safety plan features an $8.3 million fire training and logistics center; $2.9 million for burn building replacement; $8.3 million for the Shady Grove Fire Station; $3 million for fire and rescue equipment replacements; $27.2 million for a fire and rescue apparatus; and $11.2 million for an Emergency Medical Services apparatus.
As for solid waste, the county is looking to invest a total of $27.2 million in the Livingston convenience site with $1.7 million going toward lighting at convenience centers and $4.6 million to improve the Chancellor landfill.
Berkeley District Supervisor David Goosman wondered aloud if the county could use solid waste funding to reverse course on its plan to close convenience sites on certain days.
“In the rural part of the county what I’m hearing loud and clear is people are not happy.” Goosman said.
Forrie noted that the county will inform the community about the referendum in a variety of ways, including online posts, postcards, and listening sessions.
The board of supervisors is scheduled to adopt a resolution for the referendum on June 9. On June 16, County Attorney Karl Holsten is scheduled to file an order with the Spotsylvania Circuit Court. The court is set to order the election by June 25. Early voting starts Sept. 19, and Election Day is Nov. 3.
