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Note: This newsletter contains links to translated versions of the content for your convenience. These translations are generated by Google Translate and are not intended to be a substitute for professional translation services.
Greetings Braddock Friends & Neighbors, and Happy New Year!
I hope you and your family had a relaxing winter break and enjoyed this week's snow days! While I’m sure many welcomed the chance to play outside and have some extra family time, for others snow days can create hardships from the lack of routine, lack of food, finding childcare or asking students to care for younger siblings, or having to go to work in dangerous snowy or icy conditions. While my daughter loved snow days that consisted of sledding down the big hill and making cookies with her neighborhood buddies, my son who thrives on routine and structure struggled with the time off. When I was a single parent, childcare could be a scramble. Snow days can be a mixed blessing but I hope you have enjoyed yours.
 I am extremely grateful to our County partners and Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) crews for working long hours to clear the roads, and to FCPS staff for clearing school parking lots and school sidewalks to ensure the grounds are safe for students to return. I am also grateful for the FCPS Food and Nutrition staff who have been at schools to hand out meal packs for students who may be food insecure. With the two rounds of snow, clearing all the roads and side roads is a difficult task. VDOT has been prioritizing clearing main and then secondary roads, however clearing bus stops and sidewalks has continued to be problematic. We have nearly 50,000 students who walk or bike to school each day, along with nearly 130,000 bus rides. FCPS staff continue to drive around the county to monitor conditions for bus and walker safety.
As we experienced multiple “snow day” school closures this week, some in the community have asked how FCPS decides when to cancel, delay, or close schools early. In short, the Superintendent works with her team to review information from emergency management and state highway administrators about road conditions, and school personnel inspect roads, sidewalks, and FCPS parking lots and bus lanes.
Here is a helpful video that explains how these difficult decisions are made:
 2025 is barely underway and your Fairfax County School Board is already busy with a variety of important topics. While I will be sending a longer newsletter out next week with a recap of our meetings and much more information, I wanted to let you know of some important upcoming school board meetings, including a public hearing on capital improvements. The meeting agenda topics below may be impactful to you or the students in your household, so I hope you will find this information useful.
Links to meeting materials, background materials, and live/archived video links are included at the bottom of this message, as well as information on how to follow the work of the School Board.
I welcome your thoughts on these or any other school related topics, so I can better represent you! Reach out to my office any time with comments or if we can be of assistance.
All my best wishes to you for a wonderful 2025!
 Rachna Sizemore Heizer
Braddock District School Board Member
Jan. 9, 2025 Regular School Board Meeting
Of particular note for the next regular meeting, tonight, Jan. 9, are performance and policy reviews related to Executive Limitation 11 Transportation and Facilities, which states: “The Superintendent shall not fail to ensure the physical facilities, transportation systems, and nutrition programs align with the Division’s Strategic Plan goals and adhere to FCPS policies and equity, sustainability, and environmental stewardship commitments. Student learning is enhanced when school facilities and transportation vehicles are inviting, safe, clean, properly maintained, and when there is appropriate classroom space to provide learning opportunities for all students.”
Background and materials related to the EL 11 topics are located here and here.
In addition, the School Board will be voting on the ratification of the first Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) between Fairfax County Public Schools and the Fairfax Education Unions (FEU) for the Licensed Instructional and Operational Bargaining Units.
The key terms of the Tentative CBAs are:
- 7% Market Scale Adjustment (MSA) to salary scales in FY 26
- 3% MSA and step increase in FY 27 and FY 28.
- Additional step at top of all salary scales added in FY 27 and FY 28
- 30- minute minimum block for teacher planning time
- Continuation of extended-day contract for special education teachers
- Three days of bereavement leave separate from sick leave
- Creation of Health Care Advisory Committee to consider affordable healthcare plans
Background information and links to the CBAs are here.
Jan. 14, 2025 School Board Work Session: CIP
Looking ahead to next week, on Tuesday, Jan. 14, the School Board will hold a work session on pedestrian safety and the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which annually reviews current student membership, capacity information and other important facilities data. This is to identify future capacity needs and capital requirements, such as renovations, additions, or new builds. The Proposed CIP for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-29 was released in early January 2024 and includes:
- A five-year membership projection,
- Program capacity utilization, and
- Potential solutions for capacity deficit.
Here is a link for more information about the CIP and a link to the prior year’s CIP, approved on Feb. 8, 2024. Capital Improvement Program (CIP) | Fairfax County Public Schools
CIP Public Hearing: We’d love to hear from you!
Also, you may be interested in a public hearing on the CIP which is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at Luther Jackson Middle School Auditorium. If you wish to speak about the CIP, you can register to speak. Registration for the Speaker's List is now open through 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 13. The Fairfax County School Board Office will notify speakers (via email) the morning of Jan. 14.
If you have thoughts on this but can’t attend the meeting, please send them to me directly.
More information on the CIP and Facilities
While the CIP is a five-year look ahead, the School Board approves the CIP each year to allow for incremental adjustments as needed.
As you may know, the building and renovation of schools are not financed through the school system’s operating funds, but through bonds. Bonds spread the cost of major capital improvements over a number of years and the county’s bonded debt is not likely to be a contributing factor to any increase in local taxes. The County maintains a AAA bond rating which is estimated to have saved taxpayers at least $1 billion in financing costs.
Our current bond funding along with current construction costs has led to a renovation cycle of approximately 42 years - meaning a school is fully renovated approximately once every 42 years. My understanding is that the bond funding does not currently cover renovation of athletic fields or other similar spaces unless those fields need to be fixed or adjusted due to renovation design or construction (i.e. the construction damaged the fields, relocating fields etc.) Best practices and school board policy for school renovation is 25 years, so in order to do everything we can to ensure modern learning spaces, FCPS and the school board are working to maximize bond funding and find creative solutions to facilities issues.
If you want to dig more into our facilities and design and construction information, here are some pertinent links:
Historical Bond Referendums: Historical Bond Referendum Documents | Fairfax County Public Schools
The Fairfax County School Board will hold a regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9, at Luther Jackson Middle School, 3020 Gallows Rd, Falls Church VA 22042.
Agenda items:
- Call to order/Pledge of Allegiance/Moment of Silence and a performance of the National Anthem by Hughes Middle School Advanced Chorus under the direction of Steven McBride
- Announcements
- 2024-2025 Exemplar Awards
- Community Participation
- Student Representative Matters
- Action Items
- Ratification of Tentative Collective Bargaining Agreements Between Fairfax County Public Schools and the Fairfax Education Unions (FEU) for the Licensed Instructional and Operational Bargaining Units
- Performance Review
- Facilities and Transportation (EL-11) Monitoring Report
- Policy Review
- Facilities and Transportation (EL-11) Policy Review
- Presentations to the School Board
- Academic Matters
- Consent Agenda
- Award of Contract – Lees Corner Elementary School Renovation Project
- Mosaic ES Renovation Amendment of Contract – Intertek-PSI – Construction Testing and Inspection Services
- Falls Church HS Renovation Amendment of Contract – Specialized Engineering – Construction Testing and Inspection Services
- Sole Source Amendment, Edupoint Educational Systems LLC, Student Information System Software
- New Sole Source Contract Award- iTeach US, LLC- Alternative Teacher Preparation Program for Fairfax County Public Schools Employees
- New Business
- Award of Contract – Playground Equipment Installation at Bull Run Elementary School
- Technology (EL-12) Monitoring Report
- Superintendent Matters
- Board Matters
Watch the Work Session live or stream later.
Meeting Materials.
The Fairfax County School Board will hold a work session starting at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at the Gatehouse Administration Center, Room 1600, 8115 Gatehouse Rd building suite 1500, Falls Church, VA 22042.
Agenda items:
- 10:30-11:30 a.m. - Pedestrian Traffic & Safety
- 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. - Capital Improvement Plan
- 6 p.m. - Capital Improvement Plan Public Hearing
How to Follow the Work of the School Board
Boundary Project Updates
Virtual Community Meeting Dates Set
Dates have been confirmed for upcoming virtual Community Boundary Review Meetings. All virtual meetings will follow the same format as the in-person meetings that were recently held, and the same information will be shared.
If you did not get a chance to attend an in-person Community Boundary Review Meeting, please consider participating virtually. Click a date below to register:
To ensure a meaningful experience for participants, each virtual Community Boundary Review Meeting will be capped at 400 participants, and each participant will receive their own unique Zoom link. All virtual meetings will follow the same format as the recently held in-person meetings, including the information shared and breakout time. Language interpretation will be available. Please visit FCPS’ Comprehensive Boundary Review webpage for more information. Sign up for the School Boundary Review newsletter for updates.
Summary of In-Person Community Boundary Review Meetings
In-person Community Boundary Review Meetings have been held for each FCPS region as part of the first phase of the review process. These sessions provided an opportunity for parents and caregivers, staff, students, and community members to share their thoughts, ask questions, and learn more about the comprehensive boundary review. FCPS partner, Thru Consulting, facilitated each session.
Key Themes Presented
Thru discussed why a boundary review is essential to ensure equitable access to quality education for all FCPS students. Key challenges include:
- Overcrowding and lack of space for programs like pre-K.
- Long student travel times and program locations that are less than ideal.
- Split feeder schools and attendance islands.
- High renovation costs and extended timelines.
This review, which is required every five years by the recently approved Boundary Policy 8130, will help address these issues and align with FCPS’ 2023-30 Strategic Plan.
Superintendent's Boundary Review Advisory Committee
The Superintendent’s Boundary Review Advisory Committee has begun meeting. The committee includes two parents/caregivers or community members from each of FCPS’ 24 high school pyramids, school-based and division administrators, teachers, operational staff, and other community representatives. Each committee member’s unique perspective and insight are invaluable as FCPS works together to follow a process that is transparent, includes significant community participation and feedback, and always keeps students at the center of every decision. Please visit FCPS’ website to access the meeting agenda, slides, and other materials and read about key takeaways from the committee meetings.
FCPS News
Instructional Job Fair Set for Jan. 11
Fairfax County Public Schools wants you to join our team! We seek educator talent with strong student engagement skills and a passion for positively influencing our school communities.
Join us for our upcoming job fair.
Job Fair Details
- Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, from 9 a.m.-noon (Weather Dependent)
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Glasgow Middle School
- There will be networking and interviewing opportunities with representatives from various FCPS schools. Employment offers for current 2024-25 school year vacancies may be extended during the fair.
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Registration is required to attend.
Find more information on the FCPS website.
The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.
© 2025 Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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