On November 8, 2022, Chesterfield voters were asked one question: whether the county could borrow up to $540 million for schools, public safety, libraries and parks. 105,071 said yes and 31,363 said no, 77 percent of the vote. It was the county’s first bond referendum since 2013.
Four years on, three elementary schools and a middle school have opened, a high school is under construction, the county’s first purpose-built police station is topped out, and a park has opened at the River City Sportsplex. This post is a plain account of what voters approved, what has been built, what is still ahead, and what it means for the Midlothian business community, including a related question on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
At a glance
The question: a single ballot item authorizing up to $540 million in general obligation bonds: $375 million for schools and $165 million for county facilities, split in the adopted plan as $81.1 million for public safety, $45.7 million for libraries and $38.2 million for parks.
The result: 105,071 yes (77.01 percent), 31,363 no (22.99 percent).
The tax question: the county's plan stated that "no new tax is associated with the Community Facilities Bond Plan." The debt is structured to fit within capacity that opens as older bonds are paid off.
How the money moves: bonds are sold in pieces over several years, each repaid over 20 years. The first sale, $105 million, closed June 14, 2023.
Progress, July 2026: the county reports $320 million used to date on the school projects, and describes public safety at about $82.5 million, libraries at $47.2 million and parks at $35.3 million.
How it reached the ballot
The referendum was originally planned for November 2021 and postponed a year because of the pandemic. The capital plan went to the Board of Supervisors on February 23, 2022, a public hearing followed on March 23, and in June 2022 the Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution asking the Chesterfield Circuit Court to place the question on the November ballot. Ballot questions like this bundle everything into one vote; as the county's own explainer put it, voters "cannot approve or reject individual projects."
Midlothian voters had one other item that day. The same ballot carried the special election that sent Dr. Mark Miller to the Board of Supervisors, which we have written up separately.
What voters approved
Category | Amount | Projects in the 2022 plan |
|---|---|---|
Schools | $375 million | New high school, western Route 360 corridor ($135M); replacement A.M. Davis ($40M), Bensley ($42M) and Grange Hall ($43M) elementaries; new western Route 360 elementary ($43M); $50M toward replacing Midlothian Middle, half the estimated cost; Thomas Dale High expansion ($22M) |
Public safety | $81.1 million | Four police stations, the county's first purpose-built ($39.1M): eastern Midlothian Turnpike ($8.8M), Chester, western Hull Street Road and the Routes 60/288 area ($10.1M each). Fire and EMS ($42M): replace Chester Station 1 ($12.3M) and Ettrick Station 12 ($12.3M); renovate and expand Clover Hill Station 7 ($9.3M) and Dutch Gap Station 14 ($8.1M) |
Libraries | $45.7 million | Replace Enon ($17M, 4,000 to 25,000 sq ft); expand Ettrick-Matoaca ($12.2M); new western Hull Street library ($16.5M) |
Parks | $38.2 million | River City Sportsplex ($17.2M); Horner Park ($10M); James River boat launch at Enon ($5M); James River conservation area and Falling Creek waterfront ($4M); access to four conservation areas ($2M) |
What has been built
Status as of September 2026, from county releases and regional reporting.
Project | Status |
|---|---|
A.M. Davis Elementary (replacement) | Open. Ribbon cut July 30, 2025; 115,000 sq ft, 1,000-student capacity, replacing a 1964 building |
Deep Creek Middle, 17151 Westerleigh Parkway | Open. Opened for 2025–26; 1,800-student capacity; the county's 13th middle school |
Bensley Elementary (replacement) | Open. First day August 24, 2026; 1,000-student capacity, up from 861 |
Deep Creek Elementary (new) | Open. First day August 24, 2026; 1,000 students; relieves Moseley and Grange Hall elementaries; reported cost $52 million against a $43 million plan figure |
West Ridge High, 17500 Duval Road near Moseley | Under construction. Ground broken June 18, 2025; $135 million; about 2,400 students; opening August 2027; the first new high school since Cosby in 2006 |
Grange Hall Elementary (replacement) | Land acquired. 34.8 acres on Winterpock Road bought October 2025 for $7.2 million; opening August 2029 |
Midlothian Middle (replacement) | Site not yet selected. See below |
Falling Creek Police Precinct, Springline at District 60 | Under construction. Ground broken March 10, 2026, topped out June 10, 2026; 16,911 sq ft; opening early 2027; reported at $12.9 million against the plan's $8.8 million |
Chester Fire Station 1 (replacement) | Under construction. $12.1 million contract awarded October 22, 2025; 17,378 sq ft, three bays; completion 2027 |
The Park at River City Sportsplex | Open. Opened June 2026; 6.5 acres inside the 115-acre complex with a splash pad; four lighted fields added in 2024 brought the total to 16 |
Three libraries | Funded at $47.2 million per the July 2026 update; individual schedules not published in it |
Other police stations | Locations not finalized as of March 2026; the county has said all three would be operational within five years |
One line in the table deserves a footnote. The 2022 plan's only middle school item was $50 million toward replacing Midlothian Middle. The county's 2025 and 2026 releases list Deep Creek Middle, which was originally announced in 2021 as a state-bond project, among the schools the referendum has funded, and the July 2026 update does not mention Midlothian Middle. The Midlothian project is real and still funded on paper; it is waiting on a site, and we have written that up separately.
In the county's words
Gerard Durkin, the county's Director of Budget and Performance Management, in the July 2026 update:
The 2022 bond referendum gave us a roadmap for investing in Chesterfield's future. Projects were prioritized based on data, careful analysis, and identified community needs.
Board of Supervisors Chair Dr. Mark Miller, at the police precinct groundbreaking in March 2026: "Today we don't just break ground on a building. We reaffirm a commitment to public safety."
What it means for Midlothian and Clover Hill
A police station near Routes 60 and 288 is in the plan at $10.1 million with no site chosen yet. The precinct opening in 2027 at Springline serves the eastern end of Midlothian Turnpike.
Clover Hill Fire Station 7 is slated for a $9.3 million renovation and expansion; no construction schedule has been published.
West Ridge High will draw students from Cosby and Midlothian high schools under redistricting proposals now before the School Board, with information sessions September 28 and 29 and a vote scheduled for October 13, 2026.
The Park at River City Sportsplex, in the Clover Hill District, adds to a complex at the center of a sports-tourism program the county credited with $79.3 million in visitor spending in fiscal 2024, spending that Midlothian-area restaurants and hotels are well placed to capture.
For contractors and suppliers, this is where the county's building work is for the rest of the decade: a high school, an elementary school, a fire station, three police stations and three libraries still to come.
What comes next: a second question on November 3, 2026
On July 22, 2026, the Board of Supervisors voted to place a second school-funding question on this fall's ballot, under a provision in the state budget, effective July 1, 2026, that lets localities put such a question to voters without case-by-case approval from the General Assembly. "1 For Schools" would authorize a local sales tax of up to one percent, dedicated solely to school construction and renovation and expiring July 22, 2046. The county estimates $65 million to $70 million a year. Food for home consumption and essential hygiene products are exempt.
The projects named are the Midlothian Middle replacement (completing the project the 2022 bond half-funded), a new elementary school for the Midlothian and Clover Hill districts to relieve Old Hundred and Watkins elementaries, a Dale-area elementary and pre-K, the second phase of the Matoaca Middle rebuild, an addition to consolidate Thomas Dale High onto one campus, a gym addition at Bird High, and countywide building systems. The Board of Supervisors has signaled that, if it passes, it would consider lowering the real estate tax rate by two cents and the personal property rate by ten cents. Early voting begins September 18.
The sales tax question does not change the 2022 bond authority. It is a separate source that could speed up projects already approved or fund new ones.
Read more
Turning Plans into Progress: A 2022 Bond Referendum Update, Chesterfield County, July 21, 2026
Bond Referendums, the county's history page · the 2022 Community Facilities Bond Plan (PDF)
Bond Referendum 101, the county's 2022 explainer
Official results, Virginia Department of Elections
1 For Schools Referendum, the county's page on the November 3, 2026 question
Chesterfield breaks ground on police station at Springline, Richmond BizSense
Dollar figures marked as "plan" are from the 2022 Community Facilities Bond Plan; reported costs are from county releases and regional press at the dates given. The Midlothian Business Alliance takes no position on ballot questions.
Last updated September 16, 2026.