Fairfax County Public Schools got a greenlight from voters this week to sell bonds in order to pay for school renovation and construction projects.
The 2025 school bond referendum was approved by 70.7% of voters in the general election on Tuesday (Nov. 4), a margin generally in line with previous years, according to Virginia Department of Elections data.
Pass rates for Fairfax County’s school bond referendums, which are generally put on the ballot every two years, have hovered around 70% since 2011, ranging from a relative low of 67.9% in 2023 to a high of 77.2% in 2019. The consistent approvals come despite the requested amounts increasing from $252.7 million in 2011 to $460 million this year.
Spread out over a number of years, the bond financing will help FCPS close gap in its renovation cycle, which currently exceeds 40 years but should ideally allow building updates every 20 to 25 years, Superintendent Michelle Reid said yesterday (Wednesday) in a message thanking the community.
“Our community’s support for this bond shows that when we come together, great things happen for our students, our schools, and our county,” FCPS School Board Chair and Springfield District Representative Sandy Anderson said in a statement shared by Reid. “This vote affirms the shared belief that public education is the foundation of our future. Because when FCPS thrives, Fairfax County thrives too.”
According to Reid, bond funds allow FCPS to pursue often costly facility improvements without adding to the tax burden for residents. She noted that the money is required by state law to go toward construction and renovation projects, not staff salaries, transportation or other operational needs.
While the referendum didn’t specify which schools it will support, FCPS said the funds will go toward projects identified in its capital improvement program (CIP), which is updated every year as part of the county’s annual budget cycle.
Renovation projects slated for funding from the 2025 bond year in the current Fiscal Year 2026-2030 CIP included:
Construction
- Cub Run Elementary School
- Centre Ridge Elementary School
- Union Mill Elementary School
Planning and Design
- Twain Middle School
- Future western high school (site acquisition)
According to the CIP, FCPS had estimated a need for $431 million to build a new high school in the western part of the county, about $23.5 million of which had been secured so far to acquire a site. Forecasts didn’t show planning and design work starting until fiscal year 2032.
However, some of those funds will presumably be shifted elsewhere in the next CIP after FCPS announced a surprise $150 million acquisition of the former King Abdullah Academy campus near Dulles International Airport in June. The school board is scheduled to hold a public hearing and vote at its next meeting on Nov. 13 on programming to be offered at the not-yet-named school.
School leaders had hoped to open the new school for the 2026-2027 academic year, but officials indicated at an Oct. 30 Joint Facility Review Committee meeting that the facility likely won’t be ready to launch next fall, given the ongoing comprehensive boundary update and timeline for receiving county approvals and permits, Hunter Mill District School Board Representative Melanie Meren said in a recent newsletter.
As of January, FCPS had $428 million remaining from past bond referenda to fund capital projects, but staff estimated that $14.4 billion will be needed going forward to address all projects in the pipeline and restore a 25-year renovation cycle.
FCPS has been reviewing alternative approaches to reduce construction costs — a subject that will likely crop up again as the next budget and CIP get hammered out. A forecast for fiscal year 2027 will be presented to the school board’s budget committee at a work session on Wednesday, Nov. 14.
