Countywide

Despite calls for targeted raises for teachers and support staff, the Fairfax County School Board has approved 4% pay raises for all school employees as part of its adopted fiscal year 2025 budget.

The decision, voted on last Thursday (May 23), came after the Virginia General Assembly allocated an additional $35.5 million to Fairfax County Public Schools, allowing Superintendent Michelle Reid to increase employee pay raises from 3% to 4%.


Countywide

Following a budget compromise between Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the Virginia General Assembly, Fairfax County Public Schools is set to receive an additional $35.5 million for fiscal year 2025.

Superintendent Michelle Reid has proposed using most of the extra funds to boost school employee pay raises from 3% to 4% in the budget that the school board is set to adopt tonight (Thursday).


News

Ankita Balaji, a seventh-grader at Rachel Carson Middle School in Herndon, will represent Fairfax County Public Schools in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, starting next Tuesday, May 28.

Balaji still remembers the moment she spelled the winning word correctly and won the 2024 Fairfax County spelling bee in March.


News

A Fairfax elementary student might soon see her artwork on Google’s homepage.

Google announced today (Wednesday) that Arya Pribadi, a student at Greenbriar West Elementary School in Chantilly, has been named a finalist in its “Doodle for Google” contest. Her drawing, which depicts a family of four celebrating the COVID-19 vaccine, was selected from tens of thousands of K-12 student submissions nationwide.


Countywide

With just days to go before Fairfax County Public Schools finalizes its fiscal year 2025 budget, teachers voiced frustration this week with the news that school employees will get lower-than-expected pay raises.

As it stands, the Fairfax County School Board is on track to adopt a revised budget that includes a 3% pay increase for all school employees, down from the initially proposed 6%, starting July 1.


Countywide

Facing lower-than-expected revenue from the county and state, Fairfax County Public Schools is considering a proposal to reduce staff pay raises.

Under Superintendent Michelle Reid’s new proposal, presented at last week’s school board meeting, all school employees would receive a 3% pay increase instead of the initially planned 6%, which would’ve made starting teacher salaries in Fairfax County the highest among surrounding jurisdictions.


News

A fourth-grade teacher at Colin Powell Elementary School in Centreville for more than 20 years has been named the Washington Post’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

The newspaper announced last Tuesday, April 23 that Laura Senturia had earned the title — and a $7,500 prize — for her “rare talent for identifying her students’ innermost strengths.”


Countywide

Real estate taxes will likely go up for Fairfax County homeowners in the coming year, but perhaps not by as much as they could.

The Board of Supervisors plans to approve a 3-cent tax rate increase, down from the four cents that was advertised. That will reduce the average tax bill hike from about $524 to just over $450.


News

Nearly 14 years after Clifton Elementary School shuttered, its sign has been repurposed.

The sign now serves as a bulletin for local organizations, businesses, and community groups to promote events such as farmers markets, cultural celebrations and educational workshops.


Countywide

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors faces tough decisions ahead of next week’s budget markup session, following demands from local unions to increase county employees’ wages.

Last week, dozens of county employees from various departments gathered at a series of public hearings to protest the 2% market rate adjustment (MRA) included in the county executive’s proposed fiscal year 2025 budget — asking instead for an increase of at least 4%.


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