Nearly $50 million in cuts planned for northern Virginia school district

[TexasTowelie]

In late May the Fairfax County, Virginia school board adopted its $2.8 billion budget for the 2017-2018 school year. The board’s budget included $50 million in cuts from its initial proposed budget.

Fairfax County has the third highest median income among all counties in the United States. Nevertheless, the cuts in the county, just outside of Washington, DC, underscore the fact that even relatively better-off areas are struggling to provide inadequate funding for basic social services.

Due to the cuts, Fairfax County will hire fewer teachers than expected, with a resultant increase in class sizes for the upcoming school year. In addition, the school system will charge students a $50 fee for participating in after-school activities.

The 2017-2018 budget reductions come on the heels of steep cuts in the previous school year when the district faced a $70 million deficit. In fact, the school system has made cuts every year since 2008. Due to the budget issues, Fairfax County has struggled to offer competitive salaries to teachers, resulting in a 50 percent turnover rate in the first five years of employment. At the start of the 2015-16 school year, there were 200 vacant teacher positions.

Read more: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/07/04/virg-j04.html

[4139]

1. As I live in the county the headline is misleading...

School spending goes up by $80 million... $50 million less than what the schoolproposed

Same for say that it has been cut every year since 2008.... no, just less than the schools proposed
https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/budget/FY2018

[elleng]

2. Thanks for the 'facts.'

Headlines are often misleading, and this particular set of facts is common: less than proposed.