The 2026 Fairfax County Advertised Budget underfunds the public schools by $150 million, according to FCPS. Dr. Michelle Reid, superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools says she cannot manage the $150 million gap in the division’s $4 billion district budget.
Over 96 percent of FCPS’ budget is funded. The shortfall of $150 million is 3.75 percent of the $4 billion budget.
On April 9, Chantilly High School's Advik Sood, student journalist, asked Reid what happens if the FCPS is not fully funded. Reid said that FCPS is at a crossroads — the division cannot cut its budget without impacting the classroom experience. Reid invited student journalists from 24 FCPS high schools to a roundtable discussion on the budget.
County and state revenue combined provide 95.8 percent of FCPS’ operating revenue, according to the published FCPS budget. The Fairfax County FY 2026 Advertised Budget includes a requested transfer of $2.9 billion.
Projected state funding totals $1.019 billion for FY 2026 or 25.2 percent of FCPS’ operating revenue, including sales tax revenue.
Fairfax County. Schools receive $168 million in federal aid for free and reduced-price meals, special education and student support programs. If that money is cut, the county may have to fill the gap, potentially diverting funds from other priorities like teacher salaries and other services.
As the county budget deadline looms and the $150 million gap remains, students voiced their concerns — from potential cuts to programs to teacher pay and class sizes. The gap would mean impacts across the board.
FCPS’ FY2026 advertised budget totals $4.0 billion, with instruction, salaries and benefits accounting for most of it, 85.2 percent according to Fairfax County Public Schools.
According to board documents, to address Fairfax County’s $300 million budget shortfall, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is considering implementing a four percent food tax, a two percent transient occupancy tax on the hospitality industry, plus $60 million in spending cuts.
Like school districts around the country, FCPS must, as of March 28, figure out how to pay some bills after the Department of Education announced it won’t pay out hundreds of millions of dollars in promised Covid-19 relief funds. On Friday, March 28, 2025 U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent a letter to state education leaders, saying the Education Department was moving up the American Rescue Plan extended spending deadline from March 30, 2026, to that same day.
In April of this year, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said that once his budget amendments are adopted, increased education funding to school districts “will pump about $1 billion annually to Fairfax County Public Schools, the highest allocation to any school district in Virginia.” An aggregate of Direct Aid to Public Education if the governor's amendments are adopted indicate that state funds to Fairfax County Public Schools were $689.1 million in FY19, rising to $1.048 billion in FY25, and proposed at $1.059 billion in FY26, according to Governor.virginia.gov/newsroom.
Public hearings on the budget are planned for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, April 22-24 at the Board of Supervisors.
FCPS is the ninth largest school division in the U.S. with 199 schools and centers. According to FCPS by the Numbers, the division serves a diverse population of nearly 183,000 prekindergarten through grade 12 students, speaking more than 200 languages,
Reid urged the students at the roundtable to “read these reports and hold your elected officials accountable. … These are our tax dollars and your parents’ tax dollars, and soon to be your tax dollars. And we want to make sure that they're spent in a way that really shapes and lifts up future generations. Because the budget, while it's not the most glamorous topic, It drives everything you do,” Reid said.
One student said that she read online that the middle school after-school program might be cut. “What criteria does FCPS use to determine what programs are reduced?” she asked.
Reid said: “So right now in our budget, we didn't plan to reduce or eliminate any programs. We've worked on efficiencies. But in your example of a middle school after-school program, the county actually funds that program, not the school division. And they've chosen to cut that. So that wasn't a cut we would have chosen to make.”
If FCPS does not receive a full transfer, it may have higher class sizes, and perhaps fewer services, in some places, Reid said. County officials frequently refer to FCPS as a “world-class school system.”
“The schools here in Fairfax County are one of the biggest priorities for this county. People move here because of the quality of our schools. We have amazing schools,” Reid told the students.
For many parents, choosing where to live could come down to the strength of the school district. Niche is a system that ranks districts in the nation. Even though FCPS is recognized for its challenging curriculum and high graduation rates, with a large percentage of students pursuing higher education, FCPS did not make the cut in 2025 for the top 100 or even 500 of the Best School Districts in America by Niche. www.niche.com
Advik Sood, the student from Chantilly High School, asked Reid about the potential consequences if FCPS were to miss out on that funding or the extra financial support they were seeking. “The ramifications are that we aren’t going to pay for the things that we budgeted to have,” Reid said. FCPS is in a challenging position, she said, unable to cut its budget without jeopardizing the “quality of the classroom experience.”
“We have heard teacher salary is very central to the reallocation of this budget,” said Rebecca Paz from Marshall High School. “What have you seen from teachers?” Reid highlighted that through first-time collective bargaining, the budget included a 7 percent compensation adjustment for all staff. However, Reid emphasized that it was not “set in stone.” Reid informed the students that if the school system lacks full funding, “that will likely require us to go back to the bargaining table to talk about how we’re going to respond to that.”
Many Fairfax County residents are increasingly worried about their property tax bills supporting increased funding requests by Fairfax County Public Schools. Fairfax County holds a moderate average effective property tax rate of 1.03 percent, which compares well to the 0.90 percent national average. However, home values in Fairfax County are high, pushing property taxes higher. Fairfax County has mailed over 357,000 updated 2025 real estate assessment notices to all property owners.
“Based on equalization changes [market-driven value increases or decreases], countywide residential real estate assessments are up an average of 6.65 percent, with the average assessment for all homes at $794,235. In 2024, the countywide average home assessment was $744,526,” reports the county. On average, home prices increased, “due to demand exceeding supply.”
Fairfax County residents can provide feedback on the county budget before Thursday, April 24, by taking the Fairfax County budget priorities survey or by signing up to speak at a budget public hearing on April 22, 23, or 24. Following the Board of Supervisors budget hearings, the board will decide on the tax rate and the meals tax by May 6.
The Fairfax County Taxpayer’s Alliance is holding a “Taxpayers Rally” at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, on Tuesday, April 22, 3 p.m. According to the Taxpayer’s Alliance, “For 25 years, the Fairfax County real estate taxes have been increasing three times faster than household income. This year’s tax hike is the largest in ten years. What do we get in return? A 40-point drop in Fairfax County Public Schools SAT scores between 2019-2024 while spending increased $600 million; unaffordable housing due to spiraling real estate taxes.” The Fairfax County Taxpayer’s Alliance is an all-volunteer organization.