For Fairfax County Public Schools officials, an already daunting budget season has been complicated by a new financial risk: the possibility of losing federal funding.
Last month, the federal Office of Management and Budget issued a memo directing federal agencies to halt spending so it can review financial assistance programs to ensure they align with administration priorities — which include eliminating diversity initiatives, rolling back environmental regulations, and restricting immigration.
Though the freeze was blocked by a federal judge on Jan. 28, many organizations, including community health centers and early childhood education programs, have said they’re still facing challenges in accessing federal funding. Earlier this week, a federal judge rebuked the Trump administration for failing to comply with the block and ordered the stalled funds to be immediately released.
However, with the Trump administration now also threatening to withhold federal funds from schools that don’t comply with a ban on transgender female athletes in girls’ sports, FCPS leaders fear food services and other critical programs could become collateral damage if federal dollars are used as political leverage.
During a budget work session on Feb. 4, FCPS Chief Financial Officer Leigh Burden told the Fairfax County School Board that much of the district’s federal funding doesn’t explicitly fall under the Trump administration’s executive orders, but financial uncertainty is a growing concern.
“I just can’t imagine that cooler heads are not going to prevail, and that somebody’s going to decide that food services should also be exempt [from the pause],” Burden said, noting that programs like Social Security and Medicare were excluded. “… But for now we just have to wait and see.”
In fiscal year 2025, which started July 1, 2024, FCPS received $168.1 million in federal aid, which helps fund special education, school meals and workforce development programs, according to a presentation that Burden gave at the work session.
The largest portion — $58.2 million — goes toward food and nutrition services, covering meal reimbursements for students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals. FCPS gets another $51.1 million for special education programs, including those under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as well as career and technical education.
Additionally, $56.5 million supports various grant-funded initiatives, such as Title I for low-income students, Title III for multilingual learners, and other self-supporting education programs. Another $2.3 million funds adult and community education programs focused on workforce development.
Nearly 700 FCPS positions, including special education teachers and multilingual learner instructors, are tied to federally funded programs.
That funding has become even more critical as FCPS struggles to balance its budget. The district’s total operating budget for FY 2025 is $3.7 billion, and Superintendent Michelle Reid has proposed a $4 billion budget for FY 2026, which includes a 7% raise for teachers but excludes administrators covered by a separate bargaining unit.
While the budget may seem large, school officials say it is barely enough to maintain operations and does little to address billions in backlogged capital projects. Rising construction and renovation costs mean delaying school improvements will only make them more expensive over time.
It’s unclear how much of Reid’s budget request will be fulfilled, with Fairfax County facing an estimated $292.7 million budget shortfall due to declining commercial real estate tax revenue, rising staffing and infrastructure costs.
County leaders have also argued that FCPS is owed nearly half-billion-dollars in K-12 education funding from the state, citing a 2023 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) study that found Virginia underfunds public schools compared to their actual spending and staffing needs.
In a December 2024 update, JLARC reported that Fairfax County received $838 million for fiscal year 2024 in Standards of Quality (SOQ) funding, which allocates funds to each school division based on the number of staff positions they need. That was the largest amount allocated in the state, but with “by far” the most K-12 students, Fairfax received less money per student ($4,867) than all but 13 other divisions, per the report.
More clarity on FCPS’ financial situation will be provided next Tuesday (Feb. 18), when Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill unveils his proposed budget for fiscal year 2026.
