Fairfax County School Board

Countywide

Fairfax County teachers’ union blames supervisors after budget crushes labor agreement

By Vernon Miles
Fairfax County Public Schools workers wear Fairfax Education Unions T-shirts after electing FEU as their collective bargaining representative (courtesy Fairfax County Federation of Teachers)

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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Countywide

McDaniel steps away as Fairfax school board’s budget chair amid embezzlement allegations

By Jared Serre
At-large Fairfax Board of Supervisors representative Kyle McDaniel (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A Fairfax County School Board member accused of defrauding a company he is a part owner of out of more than $1.5 million has stepped away as chairman of the board’s budget committee.

Kyle McDaniel, an at-large representative, no longer oversees the committee, having willingly ceded the position to vice chair Rachna Sizemore Heizer in recent weeks, he confirmed to FFXnow.

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Obituary

Former school board member Janie Strauss remembered as champion for students

By Scott McCaffrey
Fairfax County School Board member Janie Strauss in 2018 (photo courtesy Brian Trompeter)

Former Fairfax County School Board member Janie Strauss, who has died at age 78, is being remembered as a community champion with a focus on improving the lives of youth.

Strauss, who served as the school board’s Dranesville District member for nearly 30 years, representing the McLean, Great Falls and Herndon areas, died at home on April 11 after a year-long battle with glioblastoma brain cancer, her family said.

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News

High school stabbing incites budget battle between Fairfax School Board and Board of Supervisors

By Vernon Miles
Fairfax County School Board logo (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

At their first meeting after a stabbing at West Potomac High School this week, School Board members said safety and the Fairfax County Public Schools budgets are inextricably linked.

School Board members expressed sympathy for staff, students and families affected by the stabbing, but also used it as a rallying cry in an ongoing budget battle with the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

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Countywide

School board debates consistency versus individuality in FCPS graduation ceremonies

By Scott McCaffrey
Students at Langley High School's 2023 graduation ceremony (photo by Brian Trompeter/GazetteLeader)

Members of a Fairfax County School Board committee appear divided on whether high schools should adopt blanket rules and regulations for their graduation ceremonies, or whether each school should retain a degree of autonomy.

The matter arose as members of the board’s governance committee met Tuesday (April 1) to evaluate proposed updates to a host of Fairfax County Public Schools policies.

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News

Photos: Local LGBTQ advocates rally to celebrate Trans Day of Visibility

By Vernon Miles
A Trans Day of Visibility rally outside a school board meeting at Luther Jackson Middle School (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

A rally organized by local LGBTQ advocacy groups outside Luther Jackson Middle School in Merrifield last night (Thursday) served as both a celebration of the upcoming Transgender Day of Visibility and a call for solidarity.

During the half-hour rally, that solidarity manifested in dozens of passing vehicles honking in apparent support of the crowd, which had gathered ahead of a Fairfax County School Board meeting to support the trans community.

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News

Mason District to be proposed as testing ground for later middle school start times

By Angela Woolsey
Glasgow Middle School in Lincolnia (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Update — The Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously at its March 27 meeting to approve Mason District Representative Ricardy Anderson’s motion for a pilot program to test later middle school start times.

Earlier: As the Fairfax County School Board continues weighing its options for bumping back middle school class times, one member says she wants to give her district a head start.

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Countywide

Elon Musk and Gov. Youngkin target Fairfax County over education on gender identity

By Vernon Miles
A LGBTQ pride flag sticks in a woman's hair at a 2023 rally in support of transgender students outside Luther Jackson Middle School (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Key Republican leaders have Fairfax County in their sights over a proposal that would introduce instruction on gender identity at an elementary school level.

Elon Musk, the richest man in the world and a close ally of Donald Trump, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) shared a video of a parent who said they didn’t want to send their child to Fairfax County Public Schools as a result of the possible change.

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Countywide

FCPS might add girls’ flag football to high school sports offerings

By Scott McCaffrey and Dave Facinoli
Football on field (photo by Dave Adamson/Unsplash)

Having successfully integrated boys volleyball and girls wrestling into its offerings, Fairfax County Public Schools appears to be eyeing girls’ flag football next.

There has been conversation among the division’s directors of student activities about potentially moving forward with the sport for the 2025-2026 school year, Superintendent Michelle Reid told the Fairfax County School Board at its March 13 meeting.

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News

Fairfax school board split on when to address overcrowded elementary schools

By Scott McCaffrey
Parklawn Elementary School (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Nobody disputes that Parklawn Elementary School in Lincolnia and Coates Elementary School in the McNair area south of Herndon are severely overcrowded.

But whether to address the issue through individual boundary adjustments at the two schools this year — as proposed in a capital improvement program (CIP) approved last year — or wait for a countywide redistricting effort in 2026 is causing a fissure among Fairfax County School Board members.

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