08/21/2026
Let’s Talk Facts About Fairfax City Schools and Council Compensation!
I’ve seen recent comments about our City schools, our agreement with Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), and the vote to increase compensation for future City Council members. I want to provide a few facts and some important context.
First, our City schools.
The School Services Agreement with FCPS has not been ignored.
The agreement, tuition costs, and our relationship with FCPS have been discussed publicly many times, including:
•March 5, 2024 – City Council/Schools budget discussion
•December 17, 2024 – Joint City and County School Board meeting
•March 4, 2025 – City Council/School Board budget discussion
•December 16, 2025 – Joint City and County School Board discussion of the agreement
•2026 budget process – School tuition and City costs reviewed again
I previously served on the City School Board before being elected to City Council, so I’ve had the opportunity to look at this relationship from both sides.
Yes, Fairfax City pays FCPS to educate our students. But that is only part of the picture.
The City owns our four school buildings, and thousands of County students also attend classes in them. This results in a classroom rental credit that helps offset what we pay FCPS. In FY2025, that adjustment was about $2.6 million.
Our students also benefit from being part of a large school system, with access to transportation, specialized staff, special education services, athletics, foreign languages, advanced classes, arts and music, clubs, and programs like Fairfax Academy. Providing that same range of services independently for about 3,000 City students would come with significant costs of its own.
It’s also important to understand why education costs are rising, especially here in Northern Virginia.
Public schools are paid for through a mix of state, local, and federal funding. Virginia uses a formula to determine how much the state should contribute toward educating students, with local communities responsible for much of the remaining cost.
Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), a nonpartisan state agency, studied this system and found that the state’s formula does not fully reflect what it actually costs to run our schools. It underestimates both the number of employees school divisions need and what it costs to pay them. JLARC found about a $1.3 billion annual gap between certain employee costs recognized by the state formula and what Virginia school divisions were actually spending.
Put simply, if it costs $100 to provide something but the state formula only recognizes $75, the other $25 doesn’t disappear. Local communities still have to help make up the difference.
That is especially important in Northern Virginia, where it costs more to recruit and retain teachers, bus drivers, counselors, specialists, and other school employees.
So when Fairfax City’s payment to FCPS increases, we need to look at the whole picture. An increase does not automatically mean the School Services Agreement is the problem. It also reflects the rising cost of educating students and a state funding system that JLARC found does not fully account for those costs.
Should we continue reviewing our agreement with FCPS and looking for improvements and savings? Absolutely. But saying “we should keep reviewing it” is very different from saying “no one has looked at it.” It has been discussed and reviewed many times.
I also want to address City Council compensation.
Fairfax City Council members currently receive $12,000 per year, an amount that has been in place for about a decade.The recently approved increase to $22,000 does not take effect during this Council term. It begins July 1, 2027, after the November 2026 election.
When I served on the School Board, I participated in setting compensation for the members who would serve after me, knowing I was leaving the Board and running for Council. I have approached Council compensation with the same focus on those who will serve in the future.
Council is considered part-time, but the work extends far beyond Council meetings. We answer our own constituent emails and calls, research issues, prepare for meetings, meet with residents and businesses, attend community events, and serve on regional boards. We do not have individual staff or personal assistants doing that work for us.
Serving also has real costs: transportation, child care, food, professional clothing, and, perhaps most importantly, time away from work and family. For some people, after those costs are considered, serving in local office can actually cost them money.
I run a small business and have a family. I understand that balancing act. Public service should not be limited to people who are retired, independently wealthy, or able to absorb those costs.
People can disagree about what elected officials should be paid. But residents deserve the whole picture when having that conversation.
Ask questions. Challenge our decisions. Look at the numbers. That is part of good government, and I welcome it. I simply believe those conversations should start with accurate information.
I love this City and am incredibly proud of our schools. I will continue asking questions, looking carefully at the facts, and making decisions based on what best serves our community.
