Fairfax, Virginia School Board Passes a Flat Budget, With Larger Class Sizes

Michael Alison Chandler:

Fairfax County students can expect larger classes, new bell schedules and higher parking fees next year, all part of a $2.2 billion budget the School Board unanimously approved last night. The plan also freezes salaries for teachers and staff.

The spending plan for the region's largest school system accounts for 5,000 more students but is $18 million and 800 positions lighter than this year's budget.

The Fairfax Board of Supervisors froze funding for the 169,000-student system, but an infusion of $50 million in federal stimulus money helped stave off deeper cuts. More than half of that will be spent on special education or high-poverty schools.

Still, school officials said the spending plan increases burdens on teachers and reduces the quality of education that families expect from a world-class system.

"We are at a tipping point," said School Board budget chairman Phillip A. Niedzielski-Eichner (Providence). "If we are not careful we will pass it and realize we have done some permanent damage."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 22, 2009 9:00 AM
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