FCPS staff will no longer be receiving a 7% salary increase next school year, as promised by the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 26) Advertised Budget.
The initial 7% raise was negotiated by teachers in the Fairfax Education Union with the school district but the agreement has since fallen through.
The current proposed FY 26 Approved Budget, which is in its last stages of being finalized, will provide a 6% salary increase for staff in the union and a 5% salary increase for those who are not.
FCPS is currently ranked fifth for starting teacher salaries, for those with a Master Degree, compared to surrounding school districts in the region. With the funding FCPS is receiving from Fairfax County and the state, the school district would only have been able to provide staff with a 3% salary increase, placing them at sixth. However, the 6% increase, which can only be funded through cuts elsewhere in the budget, would place FCPS at second in the same category.
“With less funds, it is essential that we make cuts in order to afford salary increases. Supporting competitive wages is a commitment I intend to keep,” Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid said in an email to FCPS s
taff.
Most notably, the cuts include a reduction of 275.3 staff positions for hire, a reduction of Lead Special Education teachers in elementary schools to 71, a reduction of classroom monitors in elementary schools and other items such as the elimination of new curriculum material and reduced funding for electric school buses.
Kylie Vera, a first-year English teacher at AHS and in FCPS has concerns about these cuts: “The staffing cuts for the 6% salary raise, personally, make me uncomfortable. While I agree that teachers should be paid more, I feel it is unfair that some of my coworkers are losing their jobs just so I can receive an incremental raise in my own salary,” she said. “I [also] worry that students, particularly elementary school students, will not have as much access to opportunities and support for success as previously provided,” she added.
Nonetheless, the increase will still positively impact teachers financially, especially during such an economically uncertain time.
“I would like to send my kids to college without them accumulating massive debt, so a salary increase would go a long way in helping me secure their financial future,” English teacher Kathleen Mathis said.
Additionally, the salary increase may be a motivator for teachers to not only keep working within FCPS as their salary will better match those in the region, but potentially reducing financial stress for teachers, allowing them to invest more time and energy into their classrooms.
Above all, FCPS maintains that its core focus is to provide a quality education for all students, something that Dr. Reid cannot see without higher educator compensation.
“Nothing has a greater impact on our community than the power and promise of public education….Generations of students have benefited from a school system that nurtures excellence and opportunity,” she said.
