School Board Update 01/10/2023

In this update you’ll find information on the superintendent’s proposed budget, the capital improvement plan for 2024-2029, and the school calendars for the next 2 school years, among other things. In December, board member Phil Reteinger announced his plan to step down effective January 15. I want to thank him for his service on the school board these past 7 years. Today is the last day to submit your resume and cover letter to the board to be considered for the vacancy.

On Tuesday, the FCCPS school voted in Laura Downs as chair and Tate Gould as vice chair. This is a continuation of their roles from last year. The big item for the night was Dr. Noonan’s presentation of the Superintendent’s proposed budget. The proposed budget projects an increase in revenue of $2,955,858, with 80 percent coming from transfers from the Falls Church City government. The vast majority of expenditures will go towards employee compensation, with an increase of approximately $2.6 million. This includes a step increase for eligible employees and a 2 percent COLA, among other things. You can find the high level slides below for more detail, and you can find the slide deck here. The compensation study implementation placeholder is accounting for part of the projected cost of aligning compensation in FCCPS with other districts. For more info, here is the presentation on the compensation study from last month.

Additionally the board approved the capital improvement plan for 2024-2029. It includes a placeholder of $600,000 for improving the concessions area of the high school stadium and estimates $3.5 million for renovations for Oak Street Elementary. $1.2 million in one-time funding from the State is included in the State’s FY 2023 Introduced Budget that is allocated to create a secure vestibule and improve ADA accessibility to the Oak Street entrance. For more info you can watch the Capital Improvement Plan presentation from last month.

At the December 13 meeting, the board adopted the school Calendars for 2023-24 and 2024-25, received a presentation on ESOL services in FCCPS, and adopted its 2023 legislative positions.