FCPS proposes a $3.3 billion budget

Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand has proposed a $3.3 billion budget for FY 2022-23 that includes a 4 percent cost-of-living increase for employees.

That would add $100 million to the budget. Brabrand also proposes adding $55.3 million for step increases for eligible employees.

Keeping pace with the cost of living “has been our greatest challenge, year in and year out,” school board member Megan McLaughlin said at a Braddock District Council meeting Jan. 18.

The proposed budget would raise the pay for substitute teachers and bus drivers, as FCPS has been having a hard time filling those positions. That would add $7.7 million to the budget. Increased health insurance costs would add another $8 million.

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Fifty-two percent of the school system’s funds would come from the county government.

A big drop in enrollment would save the district $88 million. FCPS enrolls 179,000 students, which is about 10,000 less than before the pandemic.

While there has been an increase in homeschooling (3 to 6 percent) and transfers to private schools (4 to 8 percent), McLaughlin said, the biggest factor is a declining birth rate. Only 25 percent of households have children in Fairfax County public schools.

FCPS was awarded one-time funding of $84 million in federal ESSER II (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds and $188.6 million from Esser III. Those funds are aimed at helping schools address the impact of Covid.

FCPS spent most of its ESSER II funds on summer school programs and HVAC and other infrastructure projects. ESSER III funds focus on students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs and make up for learning loss.

The proposed budget calls for $32 million to add three days of professional development and mandatory training for employees. McLaughlin expressed concern about the return on investment for that expense.

Another $8.4 million would provide additional assistant principals to schools with high-need populations.

The proposed budget also calls for $14.7 million for a special education lead teacher at each elementary school. McLaughlin said that adding those positions should be based on enrollment, rather than one per school regardless of size.

The school board will hold a public hearing on the budget on Jan. 24 and is scheduled to adopt an FY23 advertised budget on Feb. 24.

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McLaughlin also expressed disappointment in Brabrand’s leadership. While his heart is in the right place, she said, he fails to effectively practice data-driven decision-making and doesn’t understand fiscal leadership.

Brabrand is leaving FCPS at the end of the school year when his contract is up. He has already accepted a new job as executive director of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents.

McLaughlin supports Brabrand’s decision to continue requiring masks indoors in defiance of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order to give parents the option of having their children wear masks or not.

“The CDC is providing the best guidance on the pandemic,” she said. Unless there is more data on the effectiveness of masks, “we need to err on the side of caution.”

“We’re looking at the governor’s authority and the constitutional right of school boards to make decisions,” she said. While she has heard from some parents who are unhappy about mask mandates, many others are concerned with lax mask-wearing at schools that could endanger their children’s health.