Prince William County School Board Approves PLA Without Public Input
What Could Go Wrong?
Prince William County School Board Approves Costly “Experiment” with Taxpayer Dollars
With virtually no public notice or input, the Prince William County School Board quietly approved a “pilot” Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for the construction of the county’s 14th high school. The April 2, 2025, meeting revealed just how little some board members seem to understand about the real implications of PLAs and how willing they are to gamble with taxpayer dollars. Several members even appeared cavalier about using this high-stakes construction project as an “experiment,” raising serious concerns about their commitment to fiscal responsibility and stewardship of public funds.
If implemented, Prince William County would become the first school division in Virginia to mandate a PLA for a school construction project. Yet board members pushing this measure offered no explanation as to why they ignored the cautionary tales unfolding just across the river.
For example, in Prince George’s County, Maryland, a mandatory PLA for several school projects led to significant cost overruns. The superintendent at the time explicitly cited the PLA as the cause, warning county leaders that they might have to cut academic programs and summer school to make up the difference until a state bailout stepped in. Imagine that: students almost paid the price for a reckless PLA mandate.
The story is no better in Washington, D.C. There, a PLA imposed on the Benjamin Banneker High School modernization project added $20 million to the “guaranteed” maximum price. That’s $20 million that could have gone to classrooms, teachers, or student services gone, because of a costly and unnecessary PLA.
Prince William School Board member Jennifer Wall, one of only two dissenting voices, rightly noted that school funds are limited. Every dollar wasted on inflated labor costs is a dollar taken from classrooms, teachers, and students. The cautionary examples from nearby jurisdictions show exactly how that risk plays out.
The data supports Wall’s warning. Independent research including a recent RAND Corporation study consistently shows that PLAs reduce competition and drive up costs. In Los Angeles, for example, a PLA requirement led to a 21% increase in project expenses.
Taxpayers and students in Prince William County deserve better. Instead, they’re being forced to foot the bill for a costly political experiment that’s been proven to fail elsewhere. With this PLA, they’ll pay more and get less.