Schools
WaPo: Fairfax Schools Have Had $305M Surplus Over Last Decade
School system predicts shortfall, but actually has had $30 million or more extra annually, report says.
Although Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) projects a large deficit annually, the system actually has had a surplus totaling more than $300 million over the last decade, the Washington Postreports.
FCPS has ended each budget year with an average of $30 million in unspent funds from the system’s budget during the past decade, the report says.
The money most often comes from savings on projected bills or from unexpected revenue increases, including income that was higher than expected from county sales taxes.
Some of the money goes to balancing the budget for the next year, the report says. But sometimes it funds "wish-list" items such as purchasing equipment, adding assistant principals at elementary schools and helping schools to install synthetic turf sports fields.
Meanwhile, the school board is predicting a $195-million deficit driven by rising enrollment figures and employee compensation needs even though FCPS had about $55 million left over this year.
The report says the system will use use about $10 million of that to purchase new school buses and add three positions to the system’s legal staff.
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Read the entire Washington Post story here.
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