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.
Hayfield Secondary School has withdrawn its football team from playoff contention, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid announced tonight (Monday).
According to Reid, the decision was made by Hayfield principal Darin Thompson as questions continue to mount about the recruiting practices used by head coach Darryl Overton and his staff and how FCPS has responded to the allegations.
Fairfax County School Board members hope an infusion of $3 million in additional cash will help create an objective evaluation of public school facilities as new renovation timetables are developed.
Board members voted 11-0, with one abstention, on Thursday (Nov. 14) to add the funding to $2 million previously appropriated. It will support upcoming work by consultants evaluating the conditions of all schools, athletic facilities and administrative buildings.
Dr. Michelle Reid is going to stick around as superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools.
Though her existing contract was set to run through June 2026, the Fairfax County School Board voted yesterday (Thursday) to give Reid a new four-year contract that could bring her annual salary close to a half-million dollars by its conclusion.
Facing growing concerns over inconsistent grading practices, the Fairfax County School Board is moving forward with plans for a comprehensive update of its grading policy for the first time in more than a decade.
The policy revamp comes after years of complaints from teachers, parents, and students that the current system lacks clarity and consistency.
If current trends continue, a majority of Fairfax County Public Schools students could come from families defined as economically disadvantaged.
“That would be a fundamental shift in the paradigm of our education system,” Mount Vernon Representative Mateo Dunne said at the Fairfax County School Board meeting last Thursday (Oct. 24).
New Fairfax County Public Schools figures show ongoing declines in the percentages of students using alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and harder drugs.
But the results have led some to ask if they’re too good to be true.
Fairfax County residents may soon get to provide input on the public school system’s boundary review process.
After amending its boundary adjustment policy over the summer, Fairfax County Public Schools awarded a $546,953 contract in September to the Connecticut-based K-12 education consultancy firm Thru Consultants for a comprehensive review of its boundaries.
Fairfax County Public Schools leaders don’t appear to be losing sleep over three of the district’s nearly 200 schools failing to meet full accreditation standards.
While 192 county schools have been fully accredited for this school year by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), Justice High School in Lake Barcroft and Sandburg and Whitman middle schools in Fort Hunt and Hybla Valley, respectively, were rated “accredited with conditions” due to shortcomings in reported student achievement levels.
With the 2024-2025 school year in full swing, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) is still working to get thousands of students up to date on their required vaccinations.
FCPS officials reported last week that over 9,000 students — down from 29,000 in July — still need vaccinations against diseases like measles, polio and meningitis, potentially putting their enrollment at risk. The division has approximately 181,000 enrolled students for this year, as of September, according to FCPS data.
