In a recent school board meeting, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) layed out their proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year. They plan to increase spending by $279.1 million from the 2025 budget. They aim to increase teacher salaries and funding for special education, while decreasing spending on training new staff. All this while dealing with a “tremendous funding gap”.
“There is a tremendous gap between what we believe is necessary and what we’re actually receiving,” FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid said at a school board meeting.
In Virgina, the amount of money spent per student is 14% lower than the National average, and is also low when compared to neighboring states. It was estimated by the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Commission that FCPS is underfunded by $3,100 per student, which is $568.7 million in total.
Funding gaps make it more challenging for school districts to compete with others when it comes to academics, class size, and teacher pay.
“We’re all competing for a diminishing talent pool [teachers], [so] it’s critical that we maintain salaries that are competitive,” Reid added.
FCPS wants to increase teacher salaries for starting teachers and midpoint teachers, while maintaining salaries for teachers earning the maximum salaries. With this increase, FCPS is projected to rank 1st in starting salaries, 5th in midpoint salaries, and 7th in maximum teacher salaries out of 8 surrounding districts (including their own). Currently they ranked 5th in both starting and midpoint and 7th in the maximum teacher salary.
By increasing teachers’ salaries, the district hopes to reduce the number of teachers leaving their positions and reduce spending on training new staff.
Currently, FCPS has had success in retaining teachers.
“For the first time in four years, our year-to-year teacher retention rate exceeded 90% last year. The division retained almost 400 more teachers in 2024 than in 2023,” Michelle Reid said.
FCPS wants to increase funding for areas like special education and math courses.
According to FCPS, there has been an increase in enrollment for students needing special education. Due to this they want to allocate money and resources for smaller class sizes and more teacher planning time for special ed teachers.
Math is seen as “critical content” by FCPS, as many jobs involve math. They would like to increase funding for it due to this and the fact that it is an academic area that many students suffer in across the United States.
Resources are also needed to maintain current class sizes. FCPS is ranked 5 out of 8 for class size compared to nearby districts like Loudoun County.
The district will attempt to further cut costs by not funding new initiatives, as well as keeping the Baldrige efficiency review (a framework designed to improve workplaces) from previous years, to improve district efficiency.
“We also continue our Baldridge efficiency review where we’re taking each department and running through lines to see how we can tighten and tighten,” Michelle Reid said.
While there isn’t proposed funding for these, FCPS would like to lower class sizes, expand middle school sports, and invest in electric buses in the future.
