The Fairfax City Council has unanimously approved the first pay raise for its members and the mayor in over a decade, increasing annual compensation to $22,000 for members and $24,000 for the mayor.
The new rates are the maximum allowed under Virginia law, and will take effect July 1, 2027. The current pay is $12,000 for council members, and $13,000 for the mayor.
The last time the Fairfax City Council approved a pay raise for its members, the year was 2015. The amount was $12,000 for council members, and $13,000 for the mayor.
During a work session on Tuesday (May 12), council members unanimously agreed it’s time to raise their own salaries — potentially up to the maximum allowed by Virginia law. For cities with a population between 20,000-34,999 people, that’s up to $24,000 for mayors and $22,000 for council members.
Update — Members of SEIU Local 512’s Fairfax County chapter officially ratified their collective bargaining agreement on Friday, Oct. 24 by a 99.9% vote, the union announced.
If approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the three-year contract will take effect on July 1, 2026.
By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is warning Tuesday of no guaranteed back pay for federal workers during a government shutdown, reversing what has been longstanding policy for some 750,000 furloughed employees, according to a memo being circulated by the White House.
With one fiery dissent, Fairfax County School Board members on June 12 approved a one-time bonus of up to $1,000 for many public school workers.
The $31.4 million cost of the bonuses comes from a state contribution of $19.7 million, to be matched by $11.7 million in local funds.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid is requesting an additional $268.3 million from the county for fiscal year 2026, with most of it going toward a 7% across-the-board pay raise for teachers and staff.
The raise, costing $213 million, is part of a newly negotiated collective bargaining agreement between the school board and the recently formed Fairfax Education Unions. Whether the county can afford it, however, is still an open question.
Fairfax County Public School teachers have more rights than they did a week ago after the school board unanimously approved the Fairfax Education Unions’ (FEU) first collective bargaining agreement in nearly 50 years on Thursday (Jan. 9).
The agreement promises better wages, hours, benefits and working conditions, but questions still remain about how much funding the Board of Supervisors will provide when it finalizes the county budget in May.
With Fairfax County facing another major budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year, local public school leaders are once again confronting difficult decisions regarding teacher pay raises.
This time, though, there’s a twist: Fairfax County Public Schools has a tentative agreement with the Fairfax Education Unions representing teachers and other employees that includes a roughly $150 million request for a 7% across-the-board pay hike for educators and support staff.
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.
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%.
