Update on FY 2017 Budget
At our February 4 regular business meeting, the School Board adopted Superintendent Garza's proposed FY 2017 operating budget (the
Advertised Budget). A budget is fundamentally a statement of values,
and the Advertised Budget reflects this community's unwavering support
for excellent public schools. It includes critical pay increases for our
teachers, begins to address class sizes and, most importantly, proposes
no cuts to the great programs that we expect in FCPS.
That's
the good news - that we have a hopeful, worthy budget to present to the
community. The bad news is that we have no guarantee that it will be
fully funded. Because Virginia law does not allow school boards to raise
revenue directly, we must advocate for the Advertised Budget with our
state and county funders.
After
years of revenues not meeting needs, FCPS is now spending $1,000 less
per student, in real dollars, than in 2009. Our teacher pay scale has
lost so much ground in the region that mid-career teachers can now earn
$15,000 more per year right next door in Arlington. We began this school
year with an historic 200 vacant classroom teacher positions. The
School Board has been forced to raise class sizes three times in nine
years and central office staff is so lean that school-based educators
are not receiving the timely support they need. Clearly, it is time to
stop cutting and start reinvesting, and the Advertised Budget does that.
Dr.
Garza's Budget Advisory Committee spent many hours over several weeks
last summer and fall developing a list of potential program cuts and new
fees. Those cuts and fees are NOT in the Advertised Budget because they
would fundamentally change the quality and character of FCPS. I did not
leave the classroom to serve on the School Board so that I could
preside over the dismantling of this world class school system. But that
nasty basket of potential cuts is where the School Board will have to
turn if funding does not match needs yet again this year.
The
Virginia General Assembly is in session now, considering a proposal
from Governor McAuliffe that would make some new investments in state
K-12 funding. But even if the Governor's proposal survives,
very little of that new funding would make its way to FCPS. While most
of our Fairfax County delegation in Richmond fights hard for our
schools, the sad truth is Virginia has been underfunding K-12 for a
decade. Virginia now ranks eighth nationally in household income, yet
ranks 38th in spending on public schools. That is not only shameful, it
is grossly unfair to local taxpayers (homeowners) who increasingly must
make up the difference.
The
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors provides roughly 70% of the FCPS
operating budget, in the form of an annual transfer. In recent years,
the county transfer
has not kept pace with needs. The recession of 2008-09, followed by
sequestration and a sluggish housing market, have made it difficult to
keep up with the growing enrollment and fixed costs of the school
system. Continued under-investment in FCPS, however, is itself dangerous
to the delicate economic recovery of our local economy. Reinvesting in excellent schools is, in fact, an essential part of that recovery.
Beyond
FY 2017, we must begin to fix the structural challenges to school
funding. We must diversify our revenue base, beginning with a county
meals tax, and work with partners around the Commonwealth to develop a
more robust response to the General Assembly's intransigence. But for
the next weeks and months, our focus is on the FY 2017 Advertised Budget
and the requested transfer from the Board of Supervisors. That transfer
request is for an additional 6.7% above last year's transfer.
Historically, going back before the recent recessionary years, the transfer increase
has often been higher than that. Given the under-investment of the past
eight years, and the resultant budget challenges facing FCPS, a 6.7%
increase is not unreasonable.
It
is critical that community members make their voices heard. I am so
grateful to the many, many people who have been weighing in with emails,
public testimony and attendance at rallies. The outpouring of community
support for the schools is something I have never seen before in my 25
years in Fairfax County. It is already making a difference. Thanks
especially to the grassroots organizers of #IAMFCPS, home-grown right
here in the Hunter Mill District. If you would like to learn more about
their advocacy efforts, go to their web site: iamfcps.org, or visit their Facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/IAMFCPS/?tsid=0.08200593222863972&source=typeahead
The FCPS web site also has great budget information and advocacy tools. VERY IMPORTANT upcoming dates to remember: On February 16,
the County Executive will present his proposed budget to the Board of
Supervisors and it's my understanding that the FCCPTA, FEA, #IAMFCPS and
other groups will hold a rally at the Government Center that afternoon.
On March 1,
the Board of Supervisors will set the "advertised tax rate," at which
time they can - and should - give themselves the flexibility to fully
fund all the critical needs of the county, including FCPS.
Please keep in touch. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
Pat Hynes
pmhynes@fcps.edu
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