Article Text
Fairfax County leaders are confronting a $149.62 million gap between the school system’s proposed fiscal 2026 budget and the revenue currently available to fund it.
The Fairfax County School Board and Board of Supervisors examined the shortfall during a two-hour joint budget meeting Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. County Chief Financial Officer Christina Jackson said available revenue is being shared proportionally with Fairfax County Public Schools.
Jackson and FCPS Assistant Superintendent for Financial Services Leigh Burden presented adjustments included in the county and school system’s advertised budgets.
The county projects that $154.18 million in additional revenue will be available for schools, while new requirements total $303.79 million. That leaves the $149.62 million gap.
Superintendent Michelle Reid described the School Board-approved proposal as a needs-based budget. The $4 billion plan represents a net increase of $297.1 million and includes $240.8 million connected to collective bargaining, including a 7% salary increase for all employees.
The county’s advertised budget incorporates a proposed $23.2 million increase in state revenue, a 7% compensation adjustment for all employees beginning July 1, 2025, and $20 million to address changes in student enrollment and demographics.
However, County Executive Bryan Hill said fully funding the FCPS request would place a significant burden on taxpayers. In the budget plan released Feb. 18, he noted that the governor’s proposal funds only a 3% compensation increase, with the state expected to cover about 20% of the total cost.
Hill said closing the school funding gap would require the equivalent of another 4.5 cents on the real estate tax rate, beyond the 1.5-cent increase already used to balance the county proposal. Together, he said, those increases would push the average homeowner’s additional bill to nearly $1,000.
Board members emphasized the need to explain those financial pressures clearly to residents, demonstrate Fairfax’s funding needs to state leaders and work together to find efficiencies.
Dranesville District School Board member Robin Lady said educating multilingual learners, special education students and children receiving free or reduced-price meals costs more as the county’s student population changes.
Lady acknowledged that a 7% raise for all school employees may appear aggressive. But she argued that compensation increases elsewhere in the county budget can include separate cost-of-living, step and merit components.
“There’s no merit pay in education, folks,” Lady said, adding that several 2% increases can together approach the school system’s proposed raise.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said teacher raises generate substantial bills for the county. He criticized the state funding situation while Virginia holds a large surplus generated in significant part by Northern Virginia income taxes and federal spending.
McKay also clarified that most county employees would receive a 4.19% pay increase under the proposed budget, rather than 7%.
Braddock District School Board member Rachna Sizemore Heizer described the county as being at an inflection point over whether it will devote the resources needed to maintain the quality of its schools. She pointed to changing student needs and the importance of services for children who cannot learn effectively when they are hungry.
Heizer urged the two boards to pursue partnerships, centralized services and other creative funding solutions that could strengthen both the schools and county government.
McKay said earlier efforts to improve collaboration between the county and school system had stalled for various reasons. He said he and the School Board chair would discuss how both boards could participate in conversations already underway between the superintendent and county executive.
The next Budget Committee meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. March 11, 2025, in Conference Room 11 at the Government Center.