News

A former Fairfax County elementary school teacher is unlikely to see the inside of a jail cell for allegedly sexually assaulting two of his students.

John Barger, who taught music at Fairview Elementary School in Fairfax Station, received a six-month suspended sentence on May 23, meaning he will only face incarceration if he fails to follow certain guidelines during a one-year probationary period.


News

Fairfax County will expand its speed camera program to 10 more public schools this summer, several months after it announced plans to install the devices.

After giving the public notice on Monday (June 2), the county will roll out the new cameras in two batches, starting with three cameras in early July. Another seven cameras will come online in mid-August before the next school year gets underway.


Countywide

Fairfax County’s first major school boundaries overhaul in 40 years is set to move into its next phase.

With the last in a series of community engagement events set for Friday (June 6), the complicated effort of redrawing boundary lines will soon shift to a 95-member Superintendent’s Boundary Review Advisory Committee.


Countywide

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Fairfax County Public Schools over its admissions policy for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ).

The department announced today (Thursday) that it has opened an investigation into whether policy changes designed to diversify the magnet school’s student body violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race.


Countywide

The battle over Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology’s student admissions policy isn’t quite over after all.

More than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court passed on an opportunity to weigh in, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares accused Fairfax County Public Schools today (Wednesday) of “intentional” discrimination against Asian American students applying to the magnet school in Annandale.


Countywide

Hundreds of Fairfax County Public Schools students could be directed to different schools under initial redistricting scenarios developed as part of a systemwide boundary review.

The Connecticut-based firm Thru Consulting, which was hired by the Fairfax County School Board last September, will present its first draft of potential boundary changes at a series of community meetings starting tomorrow (Thursday).


Countywide

Fairfax County Public Schools staff will receive most, but not all, of their planned salary increases under a revised fiscal year 2026 budget proposal shared last week by Superintendent Michelle Reid.

However, in order to preserve as much of the promised raises as possible, some positions and services will be cut after the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors declined to approve Reid’s full funding request.


News

Graduation season is getting underway for college and high school students alike, which means an influx of traffic for people living around George Mason University.

GMU warns that “heavy traffic” is expected around its main Fairfax campus for the next month, with dozens of graduation ceremonies scheduled to take place at EagleBank Arena (4500 Patriot Circle).


Countywide

The Fairfax County School Board is considering a series of changes that might help cut down costs and other hurdles for new school projects.

During a work session on Tuesday (May 6), the school board and Fairfax County Public Schools staff discussed ways to reduce costs for new construction or share that burden with other entities — like through public-private partnerships or cost-sharing agreements.


Countywide

Fairfax County teachers’ elation at securing a collective bargaining agreement, the first of its kind in nearly 50 years for the district, has proven short-lived.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is set to adopt a budget for fiscal year 2026 that transfers $2.93 billion to Fairfax County Public Schools — up $119 million from the current fiscal year, but well short of the $248 million increase that Superintendent Michelle Reid requested primarily to cover employee pay raises promised by the union contract.


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