Fairfax County Public Schools needs $2.6 billion over the next decade to address renovations and construction projects already in its pipeline, school officials say.
While $428 million is available from past bond referendums, it’s far from enough to cover the school system’s current priorities, which were laid out in a draft Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for fiscal years 2026-2030 presented to the Fairfax County School Board on Tuesday (Jan. 14).
Fairfax County Public School teachers have more rights than they did a week ago after the school board unanimously approved the Fairfax Education Unions’ (FEU) first collective bargaining agreement in nearly 50 years on Thursday (Jan. 9).
The agreement promises better wages, hours, benefits and working conditions, but questions still remain about how much funding the Board of Supervisors will provide when it finalizes the county budget in May.
Any Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) card holders who’ve been taking advantage of Kanopy might want to start working through their watchlist now.
FCPL announced on Sunday (Jan. 5) that it isn’t renewing its subscription to the on-demand movie and TV streaming service, so users will no longer be able to access the platform after Jan. 31.
Fairfax County Public Schools is set to allocate an additional $3.4 million to safety and security upgrades, drawing from surplus revenue identified in its mid-year budget review.
The funding includes $1.5 million from a class-action settlement with Juul, as well as higher-than-expected sales tax revenue and tuition payments from the City of Fairfax.
With Fairfax County facing another major budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year, local public school leaders are once again confronting difficult decisions regarding teacher pay raises.
This time, though, there’s a twist: Fairfax County Public Schools has a tentative agreement with the Fairfax Education Unions representing teachers and other employees that includes a roughly $150 million request for a 7% across-the-board pay hike for educators and support staff.
Fairfax County leaders have a nearly $300 million budget gap to fill between now and the time the fiscal 2026 budget is adopted in springtime.
“We have a lot of work to do,” County Executive Bryan Hill said last Tuesday (Nov. 26) at an occasionally testy joint meeting between the county’s Board of Supervisors and School Board.
Reston Association members will once again see an uptick in the annual assessment that they pay for the services and facilities provided by the homeowners’ organization.
The RA Board of Directors voted at its meeting on Thursday (Nov. 21) to adopt a $23 million budget for 2025 and implement a $848 assessment fee — a $31 or 3.8% increase from the current rate of $817, according to a memo from RA staff to the board.
As the 2025 General Assembly session approaches, Fairfax County leaders are hoping for the best while bracing for the worst when it comes to unfunded mandates and associated costs handed down from Richmond.
“We can’t continue to sustain all these state operations that are dropped in our lap,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said at a meeting of the board’s legislative committee on Tuesday (Oct. 15).
Reston Association members could see an increase in member fees next year.
The association’s staff have proposed a draft budget that includes a $865 yearly assessment — a 5.9% increase that would help cover salary increases and a $103 contribution per member to RA’s capital improvements plan.
Fairfax County leaders want Gov. Glenn Youngkin to boost state funding for critical services, such as schools, transportation and health care.
The Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 on Tuesday (Sept. 24) to send a letter to Youngkin arguing that chronic underfunding by the state has forced localities like Fairfax County to lean heavily on local tax revenue to maintain “core services” like public education, public safety and transportation infrastructure, straining local budgets and taxpayers.
