Proposed FCPS Budget Focuses on Salary Increases for Teachers

Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Jack Dale proposed a $2.2 billion budget for fiscal year 2012, which calls for a 2 percent raise for educators.
At a press conference Thursday morning at the FCPS Falls Church headquarters, Dale said he wants to be able to attract teachers to the county with competitive salaries. Currently, the starting salary for teachers in the school system is $44,000.
Dale presented his proposed budget to the Fairfax County School Board on Thursday night. Public hearings on the budget will be held by the board Jan. 24 and 25 at Luther Jackson Middle School at 3020 Gallows Rd.
“Our entry level compensation doesn’t compete with the same positions in the private sector,” Dale said. “I think we should be giving all of our employees a raise after the last two years of frozen salaries.”
Dale said the school system has a projected enrollment of more than 177,000 students in the next fiscal year. He said he hopes to bring in at least 200 more teachers to help educate the rising number of students the system has in its 196 schools and centers.
More than 85 percent, or $1.9 billion, of the proposed budget would go to instruction if approved, Dale said. The next largest amount of the budget would go toward transporting students to and from school, which is a proposed $123.4 million, or more than 5 percent of the budget. Facilities management and general support each account for more than 4 percent of the budget at $94.2 million and $110.4 million, respectively.
From fiscal years 2009 to 2011, the number of students enrolled in Fairfax County school has gone up by at least 2,000 students each year, according to FCPS statistics. Dale said the number of people moving from the county has gone down, and more children are being born in the county, which will only see the number of enrolled students increase in the coming years. Dale said teachers need to be in place to educate the predicted enrollment increase.
“In previous years, 8,000 people would move in and 8,000 county residents would leave, but people haven't been leaving the county,” Dale said.
U.S. Census figures show Fairfax County has grown by a net of nearly 68,000 people since 2000. But 110,000 people have left the county while nearly 86,000 have arrived from foreign countries. In addition nearly 140,000 babies have been born in the county in the past 10 years and 40,000 people have died.
Patch will follow up on the proposed FCPS budget tomorrow