FCPS Budget Cutting Task Force Proposes Cutting Sports, Raising Class Sizes

For more than a month, Fairfax County Public Schools has accepted resident feedback regarding how to address a possible $100 million budget shortfall for the 2016-17 school year, and the school district is continuing to accept and examine residents’ suggestions.

But the county is also taking action of its own to determine the best way to endure such a mammoth budget cut. A task force has been formed to try and find the best ways to address a difficult budget slashing, and a recent draft of potential reductions proposes solutions including raising class sizes and eliminating sports from the budget.

Take a look at the full draft below:

Here are some highlights addressed in the documents:

One avenue that is always polarizing when it comes to school funding is after-school sports, and these budget cuts are no exception.

The draft suggests student-athletes and their families pay a fee to participate on a sports team to help subsidize the cost. A $150 fee per athlete would save FCPS $2.7 million in one school year, and a $200 fee per athlete would save the school district $3.6 million.

Eliminating junior varsity sports altogether would save FCPS $2.1 million, and eliminating varsity sports would save an additional $5.2 million, according to the draft.

The draft also notes that cutting down on the number of athletic trainers at each school would save the district more than $2 million.

There are more line items suggesting the discontinuation of other after-school activities, including musical ensembles, drama, debate and other similar programs. These cuts would also involve the discontinuation of late-bus service, particularly at middle schools throughout the county.

The draft even explores the savings that would come with cutting preschool altogether.

And although it may be as unpopular as cutting sports and other extracurriculars, the document explores how much Fairfax County would save by increasing class sizes in elementary, middle and high schools, as well as preschools and alternative high schools.

Asking teachers to teach six periods instead of five is proposed in the draft, as is reducing the number of librarians per school.

Sharon Bulova, Chairwoman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, told The Washington Post eliminating sports is just alarmist rhetoric, and that it’s not realistically going to occur.

FCPS will begin preparing a fiscal budget proposal for the 2016-17 school year in January 2016.