|
This week - on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (April 22, 23, and 24) - you can show up and speak up for our public schools! Now is the time to advocate for full funding of our public schools!
Register or walk-in to a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ public budget hearing to share your comments publicly - or show support just by joining the audience gathered to listen!
The meetings are at the County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax. Here are the meeting start times:
- Tuesday, April 22 at 4pm
- Wednesday, April 23 at 3pm
- Thursday, April 24 at 3pm
My dog Lola and I made two videos to educate you on budget advocacy. The first video describes how schools are funded, and the second informs you on how to participate in public meetings. If you like my YouTube page, please subscribe for regular updates!
Register to speak at the County website.
All speakers will have three minutes, maximum, to speak their comments to the Board of Supervisors; additionally, an individual can only speak once over the three days. Interpretation services are provided - this can be selected on the form linked above. Also, the Board listens to the public at these times, and does not exchange in dialogue with the speakers about their comments. After registering, you will be contacted and given a number in the speaking queue. The meetings last for several hours; however, it’s not published in advance how long the meetings will run nor the meeting end times. There is time planned at the end of each hearing to allow walk-ins or those who may have missed their assigned number earlier, to speak. Being present in the room to show support of other speakers is also a helpful contribution to advocacy efforts.
You can leave your written testimony, which is compiled and provided to the Board of Supervisors.
Recommended “asks” to the Board of Supervisors:
💰 Fund the proposal provided by the School Board, to fully fund the FCPS budget for the coming year.
- Fully funding our public schools is the most viable option for economic survival and stability of Fairfax County.
- Our public schools need continued investment; our teachers are underpaid and students require more than ever from schools.
- Fully fund collective bargaining as has been done for other county employees, such as police and fire
🍝 Dedicate the Meals Tax revenue to the schools.
🤝 Work together with the School Board going forward, to create a unified approach to funding the Fairfax we want and need.
- Work collaboratively on local budgeting, and to Get The Money from the Commonwealth of Virginia.
On May 6, the Board of Supervisors will have its final public meeting to review the budget, and make any “mark ups” (changes). The Board of Supervisors votes to “adopt” (approve) the final budget on May 13, at which time the amount of money is set in place that will be available to FCPS.
MY STATEMENT ABOUT THE COUNTY FY26 ADVERTISED BUDGET
I firmly oppose cuts to our educational programs and call on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and County Executive, Bryan Hill, to fully fund our public schools. The funding amount that the County has currently proposed to transfer to FCPS is $150 million less than what the FCPS Superintendent proposed as needed. The majority of the proposed FCPS budget will go to hard-earned raises for teachers, who for too long have been paid less than their regional counterparts. We risk losing our most-experienced teachers to other school divisions if we continue down this path.
Furthermore, the County’s own proposed budget eliminates funding previously included to benefit FCPS students and staff, including middle school afterschool programs, summer learning programs, and high school transportation safety, and more. Regarding middle school afterschool programs: FCPS leadership learned of this cut when the County Executive presented the proposed budget publicly, at the February 18 Board of Supervisors meeting. FCPS has not budgeted to absorb the $4 million reduction for this, or any other County reduction. A sliding payment scale for student participants is not an option for many reasons, including that this method was tried in the recent past, and the program was unsuccessful.
The Superintendent has proposed the bare minimum to fund FCPS, with priorities on competitive employee compensation to retain teachers, no new initiatives, and meeting current needs of Fairfax children and families. The School Board approved this, and it is now before the County Board of Supervisors, who are determining the total amount of public funds that will be dedicated to all County services, including public schools. The County budget is approved May 13.
The School Board is advocating to eliminate proposed cuts and fully fund our schools.
- Fully funding our public schools is the most viable option for economic survival and stability of Fairfax County.
- Our public schools need continued investment; our teachers are underpaid and students require more than ever from schools.
- A united effort by County leaders is the way forward.
I hope this is helpful. I plan to attend two of the three days of public budget hearings, since I have prior commitments, including a Regular Meeting of the School Board, during one of the days. You can always contact me through my official webpage, too.
Thank you for advocating for our excellent public schools and a strong future for Fairfax County!
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.
© Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
|
