Fairfax County Public Schools leaders say they are making staffing adjustments in the wake of a year-over-year decline in student enrollment that seems to have caught them by surprise, though the downward trend isn’t new.
As a result, the school division will work to do better forecasting so there are fewer enrollment surprises in the future, Superintendent Michelle Reid told the Fairfax County School Board last Thursday (Oct. 8).
Members of Fairfax County’s General Assembly delegation are asking county supervisors and school board members to lower the rhetoric when it comes to state funding for local K-12 education.
“Be thoughtful about the way you talk,” Del. Laura Jane Cohen (D-16) told the Board of Supervisors during an Oct. 6 joint work session between the board and the county’s state legislative representatives.
The former principal of Hayfield Secondary School is accused of spending nearly $8,000 in school funds for personal expenses and has been charged with felony embezzlement, Fairfax County Police said yesterday (Sept. 30).
Darin Thompson, 51, of Lorton, turned himself in to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center yesterday after police obtained a warrant for his arrest. He was released on a $3,000 unsecured bond.
Some teachers at Lake Braddock Secondary School are pushing back against a relatively new job duty: weapons detection.
The staff members say that they are not qualified nor the appropriate personnel to screen for weapons as students pass through OpenGate security systems at the Burke school. As part of the ongoing dispute, the Fairfax Education Unions — a partnership between the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers and Fairfax Education Association, the labor unions representing non-managerial employees — has filed a formal grievance against FCPS.
The Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously Thursday (Sept. 24) to ban the use of Flock cameras and other automated license plate readers (ALPRs) on school property.
The motion, introduced by at-large member Kyle McDaniel and seconded by Springfield District representative Sandy Anderson, prohibits the “installation, procurement, or leasing” of ALPRs on property owned by the school board. It has no impact on the school system’s internal video cameras, speed cameras or school bus stop-arm cameras.
Fairfax County supervisors celebrated milestone anniversaries yesterday (Tuesday) of an elementary school and a community hospital, with proclamation presentations slated for later in the year.
County supervisors honored the 150th anniversary of Groveton Elementary School (6900 Harrison Lane).
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted today (Sept. 15) to restore funding for crossing guard services at a number of public high schools.
The board unanimously approved a fiscal year 2026 budget carryover review package that included $707,908 in funding and 11 full-time police positions to restore coverage of 11 crossings at 10 high schools for the remainder of fiscal year 2027, which began on July 1 and will end on June 30, 2027.
Fairfax County Public Schools officials are willing to at least explore the idea of selling naming rights to high school athletic facilities.
At its Sept. 8 work session, the Fairfax County School Board directed county staff to gather more information from the business community, while the elected officials try to hammer out policy guardrails.
Like the county government, Fairfax County Public Schools is preparing for a challenging financial year ahead — one that could require further reductions to staffing and other cuts.
With spending commitments for fiscal year 2028 outweighing anticipated revenue, the school board and superintendent will need to identify cost savings and potential reductions, according to FCPS Chief Financial Officer Leigh Burden.
Fairfax County officials are poised to walk back their elimination of high school crossing guards, while pushing for additional measures to improve safety around schools.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting tomorrow (Tuesday), county staff will recommend providing $707,908 to restore 11 crossing guard positions affected by the fiscal year 2027 budget adopted in May, according to a memo that Deputy County Executive Tom Arnold sent to board members last Friday (Sept. 11).
