Education Issues in Fairfax County
[Scroll down for news updates]
Fairfax County Public Schools By the Numbers:
FCPS School System
- 10th largest school system
- ~75% of Fairfax County’s 1.1 million residents do not currently have children in FCPS
- 198 schools and centers
- 800+ trailers
- 27.5 million square feet of covered infrastructure facilities, plus another 1+ million square feet in temporary facilities (trailers)
- 1,630 buses, the largest school bus fleet in the United States
- 18.5 million bus miles traveled annually transporting 130,000 students daily
- 15,287 teacher positions
- 24,121 total full-time positions (includes teacher positions)
- ~14,000 additional part-time positions
FCPS School Board
- 12 Board Members – nine by Magisterial District, three at-Large; registered
- 4 total number of Board Members each voter may cast a ballot for, including one by the voter’s Magisterial District and three at-Large. The full Board is up for election in November, 2019 for the next four-year term.
FCPS Budget
- $2,870,278,776 Billion operational budget – primarily funded by Fairfax County residents (70.1 percent). The balance of the funding is from the Commonwealth of Virginia (23.1 percent), other sources (6.8 percent) and the federal government (1.6 percent)
- ~53% of the entire Fairfax County budget is transferred by the Board of Supervisors to the School Board for the FCPS Budget
- $404,874,411 of the $2.9 Billion budget is for retirement
- $155 Million in additional funds is for the Capital Improvement Plan Budget
- $15,318 average cost per student
FCPS Students
- 190,168 students – the upward trend for student population now means an increased projected estimate for fall 2018 enrollment
- 36,019 students (19%) ESOL
- 26,730 students (14.1%) Special Education
- 55,020 students (29.0%) Free and Reduced-Price Meals
- ~200 countries and territories represented in student population
- 160 languages spoken by student population
- 20,287 additional students from 2008-2017
- 2,028 average student increase every year
KEY LINKS:
- Budget Documents: https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/budget/budget-documents
- Budget Questions and Responses: https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/budget/budget-question-responses
- Capital Improvement Program: https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/facilities-planning-future/capital-improvement-program
- School Board: https://www.fcps.edu/school-board
- Cox Channel 21 – Televised School Board Meetings
- School Board Meetings: https://www.fcps.edu/school-board/school-board-meetings
- School Board Meeting agendas, minutes, videos and photos: https://www.fcps.edu/school-board/agenda_minutes_photos
- FCPS Livestream: https://www.fcps.edu/tv
- School Board Meetings on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSz76NCRDYQF3hPS2qS2SGEcoO4__Yd7Z
- Archived School Board Meeting Videos: https://www.fcps.edu/node/32692
- School Board Standing Committees: https://www.fcps.edu/school-board/school-board-committees
- About FCPS: https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps
- One Fairfax: https://www.fcps.edu/onefairfax
Video Podcast: Steven Mosley for School Board
In Episode 9 of our meet-the-candidate video podcast series, Fairfax GOP Vice Chairman Matt Truong interviews Mount Vernon school board candidate Steven Mosley. Get to know to know this dynamic candidate’s story and vision for parent-powered education reform
Get Our Schools Back to Basics
My name is Laura Ramírez Drain and I am a unique political candidate running in my first election. I am an engineer, a small-business entrepreneur and a parent of two sons who attended FCPS from elementary to high school. I have been advocating for students for many years as an active PTA volunteer. As a busy, working mother I had never given any thought to running for office
County Schools Are Leaving Kids Behind
Solutions that could improve the outcomes for students at Mount Vernon and other struggling Fairfax County public schools won’t be implemented this year under the guidance of the current school board. These schools will continue to face higher dropout rates (9.2%) and lower state tests scores for reading and math
Unanimous Party Control Is the Last Thing County Schools Need
Northern Virginia, we have a problem: our nation’s public schools have been targeted by aggressive and organized social-engineering activism
Fact Check: School Boundary Changes
Voices of Fairfax released a new video fact-checking the school district’s misleading “fact sheet” on school boundary changes
Video Podcast: Vinson Palathingal for School Board
In Episode 7 of our meet-the-candidate video podcast series, Fairfax GOP Vice Chairman Matt Truong interviews at-large school board candidate Vinson Palathingal. Get to know this dynamic candidate’s story and vision for back-to-basics education reform
Video Podcast: Springfield School Board Member Elizabeth Schultz
In Episode 6 of our meet-the-candidate video podcast series, Fairfax GOP Vice Chairman Matt Truong interviews Springfield School Board Member Elizabeth Schultz.
A rare voice of common sense on the board, Ms. Schultz breaks down “One Fairfax” and other controversial issues
Bridging the Achievement Gap: An Immigrant’s Perspective
The achievement gap among Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) children of different ethnic groups is as wide as it has ever been. The failure to bridge this divide, even after decades of efforts, is really embarrassing to the school board