Employee News: FY 2024 Approved Budget, Free Classifieds for Staff, $100 Employee Wellness Incentive

Fairfax County Public Schools sent this bulletin at 05/30/2023 06:45 PM EDT
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Lauren Tredinnick, a first grade teacher and yearbook sponsor at Canterbury Woods Elementary School, enjoys reading with some of her students.

School Board Adopts FY 2024 Budget

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The Fairfax County School Board unanimously voted to adopt Fairfax County Public Schools’ Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Approved Budget at their regularly scheduled Board meeting May 25. The budget focuses on closing the achievement gap for all students, and maintaining a world-class public school division by recruiting and retaining outstanding educators.

In light of the ongoing national teacher shortage, the FY 2024 Approved Budget seeks to position FCPS as the preferred place to work by offering competitive financial packages to attract and retain excellent teachers and staff. The budget includes:

  • $80.9 million to provide a market scale adjustment of 3.0% for all employees. 
  • $58.2 million to provide a step increase for all eligible employees.
  • $4.3 million to provide a step extension for all scales.

Special Education Teacher Extended Day contracts currently funded in FY 2023 with Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) funds will continue to be funded with ESSER III in FY 2024. Read the FY 2024 Budget news release.


Fiscal Year 2024 Salary Scales

The FY 2024 Salary Scales were adopted as part of the FY 2024 Budget.

💵 Earn Your $100 Employee Wellness Incentive!

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Employees enrolled in an FCPS health plan as the primary cardholder may earn a reward worth up to $100 by completing their annual physical and laboratory screenings. This incentive is in addition to the prizes you can win by participating in wellness challenges that occur each year.

Cigna members earn a $50 gift card reward for completing the annual preventive exam and a $50 gift card reward for completing the biometric screening. 

Kaiser Permanente members earn a $100 gift card reward for completing the total health assessment and biometric screening.

The Wellness Incentive Program is available through December 31. Visit the program’s webpage or email EmployeeWellness@FCPS.edu with any questions. 


Schedule Your Annual Physical

If you have not already done so this year, contact your primary care physician (PCP) to schedule your annual physical. If you need help obtaining a PCP, contact Cigna at 877-501-7992 or Kaiser at 800-777-7902. 

🏗️ School Board Approves 2023 Bond Referendum

The School Board approved a resolution requesting that the Board of Supervisors (BOS) approve a School Bond Referendum, supporting the division and county’s commitment to providing safe and welcoming learning environments for all students. 

The School Bond Referendum will be on the November 2023 general election ballot in the principal amount of $435 million, pending the approval of the BOS. The BOS will vote on the School Bond Referendum in June.

The funding provided by voter-approved bonds will provide construction funds for seven elementary schools; planning and design funds for eight elementary school renovations and one middle school renovation; and funds for three modular relocations, security vestibules, and inflation adjustments for prior bond projects. These projects are identified in the FY 2024-28 Capital Improvement Program which was approved by the School Board in February. 

The building and renovation of our schools is not funded through the division’s operating budget. Voter-approved bonds allow payment for these projects over time. Read more about the 2023 Bond Referendum.

“Uncle” Safwat Supports Community Through Translation

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About 20 years ago, Safwat Azer retired from working at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). His role at the IMF was to coordinate Arabic translation services for global publications. He is familiar with many of the Arabic dialects, which helps him address the interpretation needs of Arabic families from different countries in the Middle East.  

After Safwat retired, his pastor asked him to help newly arrived families in the community to enroll their children in schools and obtain national identification cards. Safwat was happy to volunteer to help. Read more about how Safwat goes above and beyond in the Employee Blog.

New Strategic Plan Presented to School Board

Superintendent Reid presented FCPS’ new Strategic Plan to the School Board during last Thursday’s Board meeting. The new plan was developed after months of tremendous dedication and hard work from our entire FCPS community. It will be our North Star in charting our course through 2030. The student-centered and data-driven plan will be guided by five goals and four supporting pillars. Watch the Strategic Plan presentation. The School Board will vote on the plan at their meeting on Thursday, June 15. Find out how to view the Board meeting.

📈 Academic Matters: State Student Assessment Summary Reports

At the May 25 School Board meeting, Superintendent Reid presented information on a new Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) report called Virginia’s Visualization and Analytics Solution (VVAAS) Student Assessment Summary Report. 

Virginia school divisions will be distributing the report to parents showing their student’s past Standards of Learning (SOL) testing data. Reports will be provided, through SIS ParentVUE or by mail, for any student who has an SOL testing history in Virginia as of Spring 2022. 

In addition to showing a student’s performance on SOL tests over time, it also shows how that performance compares to other Virginia students who took the same test. 

This report–along with a companion letter–will be available mid-June. 

FCPS uses various data sources to determine student growth and success. The VVAAS Student Assessment Summary Report is just one piece of information in the larger picture of student assessment in FCPS. Learn more about what to expect regarding assessment reporting practices and timelines.

🙂 Register for Happiness: A Key to Life’s Satisfaction EAP Webinar

Register today for the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) webinar, Happiness: A Key to Life’s Satisfaction, which will be held on Wednesday, May 31, at 4 p.m. Participants will research the role of gratitude, optimism, and kindness in cultivating happiness.

Find additional events and recordings of previous webinars on the Hub EAP page. Sign up for the EAP-Wellness Newsletter to get monthly updates and announcements.

🥗 No Student Goes Hungry at FCPS

Families who earn less than 185% of poverty level qualify for free and reduced-price meals. However, an application must be completed and submitted each school year to receive that benefit. If you are interested in helping to relieve lunch debt for families currently going through the FRM application process, please donate to Educate Fairfax.

Free Classifieds for Employees

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The FCPS Online Classifieds is a free way for employees to post ads for personally owned items that they are seeking to buy, sell, or give away. It's also a great tool to help an employee look for someone to share a ride to work, find a roommate, or rent real estate. FCPS’ classifieds system is self-service and allows users to post new ads, or update or renew existing ads at any time. The classifieds are for FCPS employees only and are available on the Hub. View rules and frequently asked questions. Contact Andy Grunig for more information.

🎓 Graduation Celebration: What Was the Highlight of Your High School Graduation?

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As we celebrate the class of 2023, we invite you to look back at your high school graduation. 

What year did you graduate from high school? Did you graduate from a Fairfax County public school? What was the highlight of the day for you? Share with us on the Employee Blog, or email us your response (and photos!) at EmployeeNews@fcps.edu and you may be featured in an upcoming blog.

🎨 FCPS Design Challenge for Middle and High School Students

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Middle and High School Staff: We are encouraging students to submit their originally designed graphics or artwork to potentially represent observances recognized on FCPS’ 2023-24 School Year Calendar (PDF). Designs should accurately and positively represent the many religious observances recognized in our FCPS community. Visit the Design Challenge webpage for more information. Student submissions are due by Sunday, June 11.

Looking Ahead: Early Dismissal June 16

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As a reminder, the last day of the 2022-23 school year is Friday, June 16. Students will be dismissed early. See the complete school year calendar or the Employee Calendar. 


Last Issue of Employee News for the 2022-23 School Year

The last scheduled weekly issue of Employee News will be Tuesday, June 20.

Staff Staples

Note: Some links in this email require a VPN connection. You can connect to VPN using Pulse Secure VPN (Virtual Private Network). Email ITServiceDesk@fcps.edu with questions. 

Please email EmployeeNews@fcps.edu with potential submissions or questions. Submissions are due by 4:30 p.m. on Thursdays. Thank you!