Proposed Solutions to Potential FCPS Budget Cuts Continue Rolling In

Fairfax County Public Schools superintendent Karen Garza was critical of the school district’s Board of Supervisors after announcing FCPS faces a budget shortfall of up to $100 million for the 2016-17 school year.

In order to combat what could be a massive budget cut for public schools in the area, Garza and FCPS opened a forum where county residents could express solutions for the budget shortfall or vote on other residents’ suggestions.

Dozens of suggestions were proposed since Garza’s announcement, some amassing more support than others but all seeking a common goal: provide as much funding for local schools as the community and the school district can mutually afford.

Here are some of the more popular suggestions thus far in the process, with vote total noted in the parentheses:

Keep all performing arts in schools. (160)

“Taking away performing arts programs is like taking away someone’s high school football dream. Not all kids can and/or want to play sports, so why take away the one thing some kids enjoy doing? I being one of them, performing arts was my getaway from the stresses of all other classes. These kids have dreams and a passion to go out and do great things just like people who play sports or other activities. Taking away these programs takes away a part of someone’s life. This is all they know and love to do. Focus on the kids and how there life’s are impacted by such a powerful program. Think of the kids.”

Flip the discussion to increase revenue as opposed to decreasing services and staff. (111)

“FCPS funding is antiquated and has a limited reach due to being tied solely to property tax. That formula worked great during robust economic times but as we have seen, it has failed at the expense of our educational excellence to our students. WE CAN NOT continue to ‘cut’ our way out of the financial short falls that are facing our schools!

“Some possible revenue generating ‘out of the box’ ideas are:

• Luxury hotel and restaurant tax that is only geared toward FCPS funding.
• A FCPS lottery ticket through the Virginia Lottery that is only geared toward FCPS funding.
• An option on income tax forms to donate to FCPS for county taxes that are only geared toward FCPS funding.
• Corporate sponsors for sporting fields and their maintained costs.

“There are endless possibilities but we have to flip this discussion toward increasing revenue as opposed to decreasing productivity, programs, or staff. That has already been done to the bare core of our system. Cutting more would vastly diminish the outstanding services and educational environments that our students deserve. That our future of Fairfax County deserves.”

Increase property taxes, better schools benefit everyone in the community. (96)

“$52 a year, which is $1 a (week), is definitely not a problem for us. We all benefit from having better schools. It maintains our property value, especially since this is such a transient area. We appreicate the value of FCPS and our kids truly benefit compared to other educational programs in the nation. We want to keep our ranking and not lose quality teachers. I see this is the downfall of FCPS if the Board of Supervisors does not allow a tax increase. Do the math, $52 a year, $1 a week, is not a hardship for the majority of homeowners. Start saving now and the benefits outweigh the results if we do not increase taxes. SAVE the QUALITY OF FCPS. We moved here for the schools.”

Not spend the additional $4.9M to change the school schedule. (92)

“Save $4.9 million per year by not changing high school start times! If the FCPS is facing such a budget challenge, why are we spending $4.9 million (according to the FAQ) for this change at this time? This is almost 5 percent of the shortfall that can be recouped by simply not changing! It’s hard to accept the critical nature of this shortfall when there is money for this change. The start times have worked for the last 50-plus years, why make the change now?”

Defer the pay increase to the school board members. (92)

“The school board voted to increase their pay while teachers are only getting a nominal increase. This is outrageous. The school board should not accept their pay increase and add that money back to help balance the budget.”

Require parents to provide transporation if they choose not to send their student to their base school. (87)

“Students are bussed all over the county. Students should attend their base schools except in extenuating circumstances such as special education or discipiline. When parent opt for an elective placement they should provide transportation not the county.”

Stop implementing short-sighted new programs, put focus on effective teachers. (87)

“Fix what works — equip good teachers with planning time, confidence, and fair compensation. Flashy new programs and initiatives are not proven, but dedicated, knowledgeable, and caring staff members are. Invest in teacher quality by making FCPS schools attractive workplaces. Teachers are the bedrock FCPS. Students, leaders, and programs come and go, but quality teachers like to stay. Don’t drive good teachers away!”

Charge for Sports. (81)

“Charge for sports. We pay $350 for marching band and that is a required activity since our kid was in Symphonic band during school. In the past two years the county chips in $100 per kid because they felt that since all sports participants got money and it was not required that band should too since it was required. So don’t drop sports, but charge a fee. I would rather see fees for things that are optional than cutting the availability of the arts and electives in schools. High school is the time when kids begin discovering who they are and what they want to be.”

Repeal the Kings Dominion Law. (81)

“AP exams are held on a national test date. Our students/teachers are cramming for the test yet have weeks left of school with not much to study/learn once the test has been administered. Those last weeks are a waste of time and resources. Having school start 2-3 weeks later than the rest of the nation causes undue stress on the teachers, administrators, and mostly the students who are involved with AP classes. Not that this will save money, but it will help with the stress of our teachers/students/admins.”

Have the building principals publish what they spent their budget on. (80)

“Make the spending choices transparent. I have been in meetings where we are told to think of things to spend the money on, or else we will ‘lose it.’ If we don’t need it, let’s save it. Our school spent money on all kinds of things that were silly or not used after paying out the money to start the program. If parents knew that $5,000 was spent on some reading testing program that was only used once, and was not needed, then maybe wiser heads would prevail.”

To make a suggestion or vote on others made by fellow Fairfax County residents, visit here.