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The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors formally adopted its fiscal year 2026 budget on May 13, approving four separate motions in less than four minutes without discussion.
Each motion passed 9-1, with Springfield Supervisor Pat Herrity casting the only opposing vote.
The board set the real estate tax rate at $1.1225 per $100 of assessed value for calendar year 2025. That is 0.25 cents below the current rate of $1.125.
Supervisors also approved the county’s broader tax-rate resolution, appropriation measures for county agencies and School Board funds, fiscal planning resolutions and advertised changes to sanitary sewer charges.
A separate ordinance will raise Fairfax County’s transient occupancy tax from 4% to 6% beginning July 1. One additional percentage point will go to the general fund, while the other will support tourism promotion. Visit Fairfax is expected to develop recommendations for using the tourism revenue this fall.
Chairman Jeff McKay thanked county employees for assembling the budget, praising the team that guided supervisors through the process.
School funding falls short of request
The budget includes a $2.93 billion general fund transfer for Fairfax County Public Schools operations. The transfer represents 51.4% of county disbursements and is $119 million higher than in the current fiscal year.
However, it does not provide the full increase requested by Superintendent Michelle Reid. Her January proposal sought an additional $268.3 million from the county as part of a roughly $4 billion school budget.
County officials maintained the school transfer advertised by County Executive Bryan Hill in January and included in the supervisors’ May 6 budget markup.
The funding gap disrupted a proposed 7% raise negotiated by the school system and its teachers union. McKay said in a May 9 Facebook post that teachers would instead be able to receive a 6% raise following the supervisors’ budget markup. He noted that supervisors transfer more than half of the county budget to the schools but do not directly approve teacher salaries.
The Fairfax Education Association sharply disputed McKay’s characterization, arguing that educators secured the raise through collective bargaining and accusing him of helping underfund the agreement.
Fairfax County’s collective bargaining code states that agreements remain subject to the Board of Supervisors appropriating the necessary money.
FCPS plans staffing and program reductions
Reid presented a revised budget to the School Board on May 8 with eight major adjustments reflecting the county funding level.
The largest staffing-formula change would save approximately $33.3 million by eliminating 275.3 positions, an average of fewer than 1.5 positions per school.
A separate compensation adjustment of about $33.4 million followed renegotiation of the collective bargaining agreement. Employees represented by the Fairfax Education Unions would receive a 6% increase. Employees on the C and SBA salary schedules, hourly workers and other employees not represented by the unions would receive 5%.
FCPS attributed the lower raises to continuing state underfunding and a county transfer below its request.
The revised plan also includes a $13.2 million reduction in classroom monitors. Those positions were introduced to address pandemic-era needs and later gave elementary schools additional flexibility in responding to teacher vacancies and performing other duties.
Other adjustments include:
- About $9.3 million and 71 positions cut through changes to the elementary special education lead-teacher formula.
- Approximately $7.5 million in central-office reductions, with the number of affected positions not specified.
- A roughly $5.9 million reduction involving Advanced Academic Resource Teachers. Title I elementary schools would retain one full position, while other elementary schools would receive half a position. Middle schools would continue receiving half a position.
- A $2.8 million reduction for electric buses, limiting progress toward Joint Environmental Task Force goals but causing no job losses.
- A $728,529 decrease in nonlocal travel spending.
The School Board scheduled a public hearing on the budget for the evening of May 13, with May 14 reserved if additional time was needed. A budget work session was set for May 20, followed by formal adoption on May 22.
The new fiscal year begins July 1.