Draeger Announces Potential Cuts To FY 2005 Budget In Response To State Budget Impasse
Summer school for elementary and middle school students and extracurricular activities may be severely curtailed or suspended, the opening of school may be delayed, and substantial increases may be made in class size in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) when the school system’s FY 2005 budget takes effect on July 1. FCPS Interim Superintendent Brad Draeger is recommending that the Fairfax County School Board consider a multitiered solution to meet the financial crisis faced by the school system as a result of both the Virginia General Assembly’s inability to pass a state budget and a $38 million gap in funds transferred from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. FCPS is required by state law to submit a balanced budget by July 1.
If the General Assembly does not pass a budget by June 1, summer school for elementary and middle school students will be severely curtailed or suspended, saving $8.5 million. Classes mandated by individualized education program (IEP) and Standards of Learning (SOL) remediation, including 11th and 12th grade students, will be held. Because the registration has been pushed as late as possible –in anticipation of General Assembly action–once a decision to curtail classes has been made, classes cannot be reinstated.
If there is no state budget by July 1, community use of school buildings and grounds will be suspended. All extracurricular activities, including athletic activities, academic activities, and field trips will be suspended, with a potential savings of $10 million for the 2004-05 year. FY 2005 employee cost-of-living wage increases will be deferred at a cost savings of $3.6 million for each month of delay. These initiatives could be restored if the state passes its budget.
If there is no state budget by August 1, plans will begin for a one-week delayed opening of the 2004-05 school year and/or a substantial increase in class size. Delaying the opening of school for the first scheduled week (four days) would save $27.2 million by furloughing all employees; delaying the opening for five days would save $34 million. Increasing class size by one student saves the school system $15 million per year. These items would be readjusted if a state budget were subsequently passed.
“We find ourselves in an unprecedented situation,” said Draeger. “Legally, the School Board must adopt a balanced budget. However, the continuing stalemate in Richmond gives us no indication of when or if the state will provide funding for public education, and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has already said it will not fully fund our budget request. Today we find ourselves with a $38 million deficit in local funding and the possibility of a $337.1 million deficit from the state. It would be irresponsible not to make plans to prepare for a deficit of this magnitude.
“I have consulted with our School Board, the leaders of our employee associations, and members of the community, and we are all working together to meet this challenge,” he stated. “We do not have the luxury of waiting until the last minute to make contingency plans. We must begin to prepare now for these reductions. We are committed to protect, as best we can, the core academic program for our students and the quality workforce we have worked so hard to build.”
Draeger expressed thanks to the members of the Northern Virginia delegation to the General Assembly who have fought for education funding.
“What we need now is a state budget that increases available revenue and adequately funds public education,” said Draeger. “This issue impacts the whole community, and we must work together.”
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Note: For more information, contact Kitty Porterfield, FCPS director of communications, at 703-246-2877.
Last update:
April 22, 2004
Curator: Therese Payne, therese.payne@fcps.edu