School Board Meeting 12/6/2021
There was a joint meeting of the school board and city council this past Tuesday during which Superintendent Noonan presented a summary of revenue and expenditure forecasts for FY 2023 (school year 2022-23).
The budget forecast seems very bright. The city is expecting an 8.4 percent increase in tax revenue for next fiscal year. As noted in the last update, Dr. Noonan had proposed a step increase for all eligible employees, a restorative step increase for those who did not get an increase due to budget tightening during Covid, and a 1% cost of living adjustment. On Tuesday, the board and city council were presented with a forecast requesting an increase of 6.2 percent. The updated requested increase includes:
A step increase for all eligible employees ($950,000)
The aforementioned restorative step increase ($640,000)
A 2% COLA ($800,000)
$500,000 for program growth (this was not fully fleshed out, but Dr. Noonan mentioned using these funds for alleviating staff workload at the secondary and taking advantage of the new high school’s infrastructure by developing a sustainability academy)
Other items: potential state mandates for school resource officers and school nurses were briefly mentioned, though it was not clear to me that these were included in the expenditure forecasts. There was also a brief discussion of substitutes. A recent survey of FCCPS substitutes (timestamp below) showed that (among other things) 6 substitutes expressed interest in being trained to work with students with special needs. Enrollment in PK-12 is 2502, down 14 from last year and 159 from the 2019-20 school year. FCCPS experienced similar relative declines in enrollment similar to Arlington and Fairfax counties.
My thoughts:
It’s great that we will likely have the budget to competitively compensate staff with the projected revenue growth, and using some of it to reduce workload at the secondary level is a good use of funds. I applaud a focus on sustainability, and the new courses focusing on sustainability that have been added at the high school over the last couple of years can make use of the new building’s sustainable features. I would, however, prioritize other goals over creating a sustainability academy or other worthy program additions. Here are some things to consider:
Regarding pay: staff are our most valuable resource in education. The budget reflects that, with ~86% of expenditures going to staff compensation. With this in mind, the board might want to consider an increase in the compensation for the paraprofessionals in FCCPS. The starting rate for a paraprofessional ($16.59/hour) is less than the rate FCCPS currently pays new teacher substitutes ($18/hour), and the top rate for a paraprofessional ($30.54/hour) is only slightly higher than the top rate for long term substitutes ($29.50). FCCPS raised its rates for substitutes in November, and the board should consider increasing pay for paraprofessionals for FY 2023.
Before adding a new program (like a sustainability academy), I think FCCPS should prioritize math and reading instruction for those that need it most. The average pass rates (not including last year) in reading and math SOLs for English learners is about 50%; for economically disadvantaged students, average reading and math SOL pass rates are around 65%; for students with disabilities, the pass rates are also around 65%. We should prioritize ensuring all students achieve a minimum level of proficiency in math and reading before embarking on other worthy endeavors.
The budget is the most concrete way the board implements its priorities, and this is only the start of the budget process. In addition to workloads at the secondary, it is also important to understand the workloads at all levels to make the best budget decisions. I look forward to future iterations as the budget takes shape.
Timestamps:
High school construction came in under budget by $100,000
Pie charts on sources of revenue (81.5% comes from city, 14.7% comes from state) and expenditures (about 86% of expenditures are on employees, with 63.1% going to salaries, 22.8% going to benefits)
Regional enrollment figures (our decrease in enrollment is similar to Arlington and Fairfax counties)
Enrollment of special populations (16 more students with disabilities)
Costs for step increases, making up the missed step from 2 years ago, and cost of living adjustments (currently no monetary increase until teachers move to step 4)
Forecasted revenue outside of the transfer from the city government
Forecasted transfer (requests the step increase for all eligible employees, the restorative step increase, a 2% cola, and $500,000 of the program growth to remain within budget guidance from the city)
Presentation of city budget projections
Discussion on ensuring fair pay for teachers (Mr. Reitinger expressed concern over a 2% COLA in light of the increased inflation of 6.2%)
What are the uses of the $500,000 of program growth? Discussion is ongoing but one goal is to build a sustainability academy (leveraging the new high school’s sustainable energy), another goal is to alleviate workload issues in the secondary schools.
Discussion on potential state mandates of school nurse and resource officers (the city budget forecasts is taking campaign promises at face value)
Brief mention about substitutes, 6 of whom expressed interest in getting trained to work with special needs students
Presentation of development schedule for the old school site
Discussion about voluntary concessions and impact on schools from new developments. You can find the number of students by dwelling type here.
