Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid is requesting an additional $268.3 million from the county for fiscal year 2026, with most of it going toward a 7% across-the-board pay raise for teachers and staff.
The raise, costing $213 million, is part of a newly negotiated collective bargaining agreement between the school board and the recently formed Fairfax Education Unions. Whether the county can afford it, however, is still an open question.
Reid unveiled the $4 billion proposal during a school board meeting last Thursday (Jan. 23), describing it as a “needs-based” plan aimed at retaining educators, expanding support for students and maintaining the district’s reputation for academic excellence.
While the bulk of the request for additional funding is tied to pay raises, Reid’s proposal also includes $65.2 million to cover baseline needs like enrollment growth, contract renewals and facility upkeep.
Another $4 million would go to initiatives like preschool expansion, enhanced fine arts programs and athletic trainers for high schools. Additionally, $14.2 million is earmarked for safety upgrades, support for multilingual learners and efforts to close achievement gaps.
The plan assumes that FCPS will get $25 million in state funding, $1 million from the federal government and $6.7 million from other revenue sources, bringing the total funding increase to $297.1 million. Overall, the proposed budget represents a 7.9% increase over the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, and a 10.4% boost in county contributions.
But Reid’s request comes at a time when Fairfax County is facing a nearly $300 million budget shortfall for the second year in a row, driven by declining commercial tax revenue and rising costs. County leaders have argued that the state needs to step up its support for public education after a study found that FCPS receives roughly $570 million less annually than what the state’s own funding formula says it’s owed.
Last year, the Board of Supervisors approved only $165 million of the $254 million requested by FCPS. That decision forced Reid to scale back proposed pay raises for staff from 6% to 3%, a reduction that frustrated educators and school board members.
Reid acknowledged the financial pressures during last week’s school board meeting, emphasizing that the county’s ability to fulfill her request ultimately depends on increased support from the state.
“We’re facing a tremendous funding gap that is not of our creation or of our county’s creation,” she said.
Nevertheless, Reid said FCPS continues to succeed despite funding challenges, pointing to a 94.6% graduation rate and students outperforming state and national averages on the SAT. She also noted a nearly 10% year-over-year increase in the number of eighth graders taking Algebra 1 or higher-level math courses.
“We’re making huge gains in our academic work, and we’re maintaining our excellence in terms of high expectations, which again, will require high support,” Reid said.
Currently, Fairfax County’s starting teacher salaries rank fifth among eight neighboring school districts, trailing Arlington and Loudoun counties, which offer higher starting pay. Reid says a 7% raise would elevate Fairfax to first place in starting salaries, making it more competitive in attracting new educators.
However, for mid-tier teachers with several years of experience, Fairfax County would still rank fifth among local school systems, even after the pay increase. For veteran educators at the top of the salary scale, Fairfax would rank seventh.
Reid and school board members pointed to the inequities as a key reason why sustained investment in teacher pay is essential.
“We’re in a real competition for talent right now in this country,” Reid said. “As we think about outstanding educators in every role in the school division, we want the very best for our young people here in Fairfax County, and there’s a cost to that.”
According to Reid, FCPS has implemented some cost-saving measures, including a $51.3 million reduction in spending through program consolidations and sunsetting initiatives funded by expired federal pandemic relief money.
Further cuts could negatively impact students, as 92.5% of employees are school-based, she cautioned. More than 90% of FCPS spending is allocated directly to schools and classrooms, with administrative staffing levels lower than those of surrounding districts.
“Our ratio of central management staff is 1.1% compared to 2 to 4% at surrounding jurisdictions,” she said. “In other words, our administrative staffing is lean.”
Beyond immediate needs, FCPS faces a $2.6 billion funding gap for long-term projects, including new schools, major renovations and efforts to address overcrowding and enrollment shifts.
The challenge is compounded by a renovation schedule that has stretched from the intended 25 years to 41. Restoring the 25-year cycle would cost an estimated $14.4 billion, not including inflation, which could drive costs even higher, according to FCPS officials.
School board members admitted that securing full funding would be a challenge but emphasized the importance of investing in public education to support the community’s long-term success.
At-large member and school board budget chair Kyle McDaniel said during the meeting that:
“The budget for this school system is fundamentally built upon shared values, and it’s a statement of what we value and how we plan to turn those into reality. We fund the things we believe in, year after year, and in this community, we believe in things like taking care of our most vulnerable, running the school busses on time. We believe that on a 90 degree day the air conditioners should actually work. We believe in serving students high quality meals. We believe in having the latest technological products in the classroom. We believe in paying teachers a fair wage, treating them with respect, supporting them and treating them as the professionals they are. And we believe that the best teachers deserve the best administrative support behind the scenes.”
The school board will review the proposed budget during a work session on Tuesday, Feb. 4, with a public hearing likely to follow on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill is scheduled to unveil the county’s advertised budget on Feb. 18. The school board will then adopt Reid’s advertised budget on Feb. 20, ahead of a joint budget meeting with the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 25.
