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Monday, October 19, 2009
Fairfax County School Board Considers Budget Cuts for FY 2011
The Fairfax County School Board is considering numerous program and position cuts totaling $162 million and over 1,700 positions in an effort to balance a projected revenue shortfall with increasing enrollment and unavoidable expenditures increases in Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) upcoming FY 2011 budget. While revenue from Fairfax County has remained level since FY 2008, state revenue is projected to continue to decline even as FCPS’ student membership has increased by more than 7,000 students in that period. To begin the conversation of meeting the budget shortfall, the Board was presented with a wide range of potential cuts at its work session on October 19.
Cuts have not yet been decided upon and FCPS is currently gathering input and suggestions from employees, parents, and members of the community. A series of meetings, an online discussion, and a survey are planned to engage employees and, in coordination with Fairfax County, FCPS is currently holding community dialogue meetings on the budget to begin the process of gathering community input. The annual process of holding public hearings will continue throughout the budget process with the first hearing planned for January to give citizens an opportunity to weigh in on the possible cuts.
Among the items under consideration for cuts are an increase in class size by one student per teacher, resulting in a $19.1 million savings; a elimination of full-day kindergarten to all but the 34 Title I elementary schools, saving $13.3 million; the elimination of elementary band and strings, saving $7.0 million; the elimination of foreign language programs in elementary schools, saving $3.4 million; the elimination of extended learning opportunities provided through a modified school calendar, saving $0.6 million; a reduction of needs-based staffing in elementary and middle schools and the elimination of the special needs staffing in high school, saving $19.8 million; and increasing class size at advanced academic centers by an additional 2.0 students per teacher, saving $0.4 million.
FCPS has instituted budget reductions and cost avoidances for the past two fiscal years, including $171.5 million in FY 2010, which is the current budget year, and $95 million in FY 2009. In FY 2010, employee compensation was frozen, class size was increased, departmental budgets were reduced by an average of 10 percent, eliminating the planetarium program and modified secondary calendar program, and cutting positions. Despite an overall position reduction for FY 2010, FCPS saw a net increase in the number of teachers and instructional assistants because of increased student population.
The School Board was also presented with potentially instituting a number of fees and revenue increases in FY 2011, including fees for athletic participation, Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) test fees, and increases in fees for community use of facilities and monopole fees. It will discuss the FY 2011 budget next at its November 9 work session.
### Note: For more information, contact Kristen Michael at 571-423-3600 or kristen.michael@fcps.edu.
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