Fairfax County Public Schools 
Facilities Crisis

Enrollment Increases and Educational Program Changes Affect Facility Utilization

FCPS will have approximately 152,000 students in the fall of 1998 — the largest school system in the state (14 percent of VA students are in FCPS). The number of FCPS students in trailers alone would rank as the ninth or tenth largest district in the state. We have added between 1,500 and 2,000 students per year for the last eight years —the equivalent of a large high school each year. (High Schools cost between $55 and 65 million dollars.)

Educational program changes have facility utilization implications. Reducing teacher/student ratios requires more classrooms, and adding a full day kindergarten program would require additional space. Federal and state mandates for certain types of programming have similar implications on space.

Funding Sources Limit Options

FCPS’ facilities budget is controlled by Fairfax County’s overall income and debt management program. County borrowing is capped at 10% of current County (not including school budget) operating budget. Current actual borrowing is closer to 9% than 10%.

The current Fairfax County contribution to FCPS facilities is $100 million, up from $75 and $80 million earlier in the decade (1994 through 1997). However, FCPS facilities needs are actually $110 million per year. This is funding approved by the public in the 1995 and 1997 bond packages. The projected facilities spending shortfall for the next ten years is approximately $300 to 400 million. County revenues are relatively stagnant due to lower than expected increases in the value of real estate in the county. Property tax rate will change only after the 1999 election.

State spending on schools for construction, for the first time in fifty years, is $110 million per year for the entire state. This is equivalent to what FCPS spending needs are for one year. With 14 percent of state public school enrollment, FCPS gets 4 percent of all state construction funding.

FCCPTA POLICY STATEMENT ON FACILITIES

At the state level, FCCPTA

1. Seeks reconfiguration of the funding formula for the construction money and seeks an increase in the overall amount of funding.

2. Seeks support for diversification of taxes for school construction away from reals estate values.

3. Seeks establishment of a state lending authority to offer local divisions below market funding for school construction using major contributions from private sources such as the state tourist industry.

At the county level, FCCPTA

1. Seeks an increase in the debt service ratio from 9.36 percent currently to 12 percent, as suggested in the last FCCPTA budget document.

2. Seeks additional revenue sources dedicated to school construction.

3. Seeks establishment a trust fund for school construction to be created by private donations from real estate developers, construction industry, and other businesses to develop a long-term county plan for financing of school construction.

4. Seeks very clear linkages between continued development and new school construction. Zoning applications should carry detailed "education impact statements."

5. Seeks allocation of county budget surpluses between county programs and school division in the same proportion as fiscal year funding ratios.

At the FCPS level, FCCPTA

Seeks establishment of a "Fairfax Facilities 21st Century Task Force" to be made up of Fairfax County citizens and parents, and to include experts in the area of finance, construction, building design, education and instruction, to develop a new strategic facilities plan including alternative strategies for FCPS with a report due in December 1999.

Last Updated 01/27/2005 20:22:30