Fairfax County Public Schools has about 4,200 fewer students than it planned for. How did it balance the budget? It cut a school staffing reserve, while jobs outside schools grew faster than jobs inside them. That is the case a Fairfax mom makes from public records. Her new piece is in The Federalist. Every member of this Committee should read it. “Fairfax County Public Schools Show How Not To Manage Shrinking Enrollment” by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora, Oct. 14, 2026.
A Parent Doing the School Board’s Homework
Lundquist-Arora is a mother in Fairfax County. She writes for The Federalist and the Washington Examiner. She leads the Fairfax chapter of the Independent Women’s Network. She digs into public records and reports what she finds. The Committee also covered her September reporting on reading scores and central-office spending.
What She Reports
- The district is shrinking. On Sept. 30, 2026, FCPS enrolled 171,936 students, about 4,200 below the 176,133 projected in its FY2027 budget. Since fall 2019, the district has lost about 17,000 students, or roughly 9 percent. (The Federalist)
- Cuts and bigger classes. She reports that FCPS cut its school staffing reserve this year to balance a $4.1 billion operating budget. Last year it raised class sizes with a change to its staffing formula. (The Federalist)
- Office jobs grew faster. From FY2022 to FY2027, she writes, jobs outside schools grew 5.7 percent. Jobs inside schools grew 3.3 percent. (The Federalist)
- The pay is high. She reports that Superintendent Michelle Reid is paid $469,936 a year, plus a $12,000 car allowance. She has around-the-clock personal security. Chief Equity Officer Nardos King will make $288,064 this year. In all, 71 senior administrators make more than $200,000. (The Federalist)
- The perks add up. A records request found the district sponsored 15 administrators at a Baltimore summit, June 29 to July 1, 2026. She also cites an Aug. 5, 2025 district email. It announced a district-sponsored doctoral cohort for central administrators with George Mason University. (The Federalist)
- The results are weak. She cites state data. About 1 in 5 FCPS students failed the reading and math SOL tests in 2025-26. About 1 in 4 failed science. Among economically disadvantaged students, about 2 in 5 failed each subject. The average SAT score fell from 1218 in 2019 to 1183 in 2025. And 28 FCPS schools are federally flagged for support and improvement. (The Federalist)
- The big bet. She calls the $150 million Skyview High School purchase a planning failure. She says the district bought room for students who have not shown up. (The Federalist)
She is fair about scale. These items may seem small beside a $4.1 billion budget. She says cutting every perk would not close the gap. Her point is trust. A district that asks for bigger classes should cut its own office too. In her words, FCPS “still protected the central office first.”
Why Members Should Read It
This story shows the district’s priorities. As FCPS cut a school staffing reserve and raised class sizes, non-school positions grew faster than school-based positions from FY2022 to FY2027. Her report uses district records, state results, FOIA requests, and the School Board’s Skyview vote.
Her fix is simple. Trim the bloated administration. Do not raise class sizes. Parents can press School Board members to answer for these priorities. The Committee wants parents to have her numbers in hand when they do.
Read Stephanie Lundquist-Arora’s full article at The Federalist, then send it to a Fairfax parent who thinks the problems stop at their school’s front door.
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