Friday, February 8, 2013
Members vote to increase request in county transfer to fund field custodians, remedies to achievement gap issues.
The Fairfax County School Board approved an advertised $2.5 billion fiscal year 2014 budget Thursday that asks county supervisors for $3 million more in their annual transfer to the system, to fund field custodian positions and add more part-time advanced academic resource teachers in elementary schools with high risk populations. That request comes on top of a 5.5 percent increase ($92.4 million) in funding from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors — for a total transfer of $1.77 billion — already in the proposal Superintendent Jack Dale unveiled last month. The 10-2 vote sends the spending plan to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Fairfax County Executive Ed Long will release his budget Feb. 26. Board members passed three …
Friday, February 1, 2013
Restoring full day elementary on Mondays also discussed as Fairfax County School Board stares down Feb. 7 budget vote.
Amendments to Fairfax Superintendent Jack Dale's $2.5 billion proposed Fiscal Year 2014 budget could direct more money toward head start and early learning programs, along with those that tackle the county's achievement gap, school board members said Thursday at a work session on the spending plan. Though board members are still in the process of drafting amendments to the budget, some gave a glimpse of what they hope to adjust next week before the plan is adopted and sent to the Board of Supervisors. On Tuesday, a dozen speakers addressed the board with their own concerns about the proposal: that it doesn't adequately address teacher compensation, time or workload issues, a living wage for other employees like bus drivers, food service …
Thursday, January 31, 2013
As Fairfax County School Board prepares to move FY 2014 budget forward, start times and issues with planning and policy also highlighted by community members Tuesday.
Kevin Hickerson has taught in Fairfax County Public Schools for a decade, but this year is the first he's realized he may need to change careers if he wants to continue to live here and make ends meet. The special education teacher at Chantilly High School was one of 11 speakers at a school board budget hearing Tuesday, many of whom asked board members to better compensate teachers and other employees before the system loses its edge — and their educators — to other jurisdictions. The issue is one Superintendent Jack Dale highlighted earlier this month in his $2.5 billion budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2014, a spending plan $62.7 million larger than last year's budget but one that also hinges on a 5.5 percent increase ($92.4 million) in …
Friday, January 11, 2013
FY 2014 spending plan adds nearly 293 positions to accommodate 2,857 extra students -- but 'bare bones budget' falls short on some needs, Superintendent Jack Dale says.
Superintendent Jack Dale unveiled a $2.5 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2014 on Thursday — a budget $62.7 million larger than last year's spending plan largely driven by huge enrollment growth and the staffing needed to accommodate it. But the plan is "bare bones," Dale said, compared to an earlier Fairfax schools fiscal forecast that anticipated giving more compensation to teachers and reducing class sizes or creating a permanent line item for textbooks, among other program needs. "It's nothing extravagant but it does recognize some of the things Fairfax expects," Dale said Thursday morning after a meeting with reporters. The budget Dale presented to the school board Thursday finds $50 million in savings, but relies heavily on a proposed …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Superintendent Jack Dale's proposed $2.5 billion budget for FY 2014 doesn't adequately compensate educators compared to neighboring jurisdictions, leaders say.
As he presented his $2.5 billion budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2014 on Thursday, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Jack Dale threw up a "red flag" about the county's ability to pay teachers compared to other neighboring jurisdictions, which could hurt its ability to attract and retain educators, he said. Dale's proposed budget is $62.7 million larger than last year's budget but relies heavily on a proposed 5.5 percent increase ($92.4 million) in funding from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors — for a total transfer of $1.77 billion — as a revenue source. Compensation — including an extra 293 positions to accommodate student growth and the costs of benefits and a state-mandated Virginia Retirement System shift — makes up …
Lauren Hill
4:37 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
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