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The Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted late Tuesday to restore full funding to the county school system for fiscal 2027.
Supervisors voted to set the county’s real estate property tax rate at 86.5 cents per $100 of assessed value and maintain the food and beverage, or “meals,” tax at 3% in order to fund local schools following vocal backlash from the school division. Schools were set to have $31 million slashed from the previously agreed upon budget and revenue sharing agreement.
After extensive debate, the board voted along party lines for the adjustments, with a 5-3 vote settling the real estate and meals tax changes while also raising the computer and peripherals, or “C and P,” tax at $4.50 per $100 of assessed value. The computers tax generates over $550 million in revenue from data centers.
The county’s over $2 billion budget sends $1.1 billion to the school system.
Entering Tuesday’s meeting, county schools were set to lose the $31 million under County Executive Christopher Shorter’s recent budget proposal at an 85-cent tax rate. That was coupled with the board’s initial decision to exclude the additional computers tax revenue from the schools.
Ultimately, however, the board voted 5-3 along party lines to keep the additional $0.35 per $100 in assessed value in C and P revenue – from the $4.15 tax rate in fiscal 2026 – subject to the revenue-sharing agreement with the schools, which remains unchanged with the schools receiving 57.23% of county revenue.
The school system will receive a $123.5 million increase in funding from last year.
The board’s three Republicans – Brentsville District Supervisor Tom Gordy, Woodbridge Supervisor Jeannie LaCroix and Coles Supervisor Yesli Vega – cast the dissenting votes on the tax rates, lamenting a lack of meaningful tax relief and changes from the previously agreed-upon April 14 rates.
The average homeowner will see $56 in real property tax relief, according to Budget Director David Sinclair. At the 85 cents per $100 of assessed value, which the supervisors signaled last week, homeowners would have seen an average $145 decrease in their tax bill.
Other last-minute additions to the budget on Tuesday included two full-time equivalent employees for the commonwealth attorney’s office and $1 million for firefighter physicals.
The 2027 fiscal year begins July 1.
