Anonymous
09/26/2024 21:56
Subject: Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One data point:
My child in Honors 9th grade English at Langley is reading an abridged version of the Odyssey. It’s about 1/3 the length of the original book and the language is simplified.
I read the full book when I was in 9th grade in FCPS and her older cousin also read the full book about 10 years ago in another FCPS high school.
Then have your child read the full book at home. Fairfax County has libraries.
Don’t count on the schools to do as well by your children as they did by you. It’s all about supplementation, homeschooling and private school these days.
Colleague with kids in MCPS says the same general trends discussed here about FCPS also are true there. His oldest was MCPS all the way. Next bailed at MS for private, youngest was moved to private after 2nd grade. They watched the decline in their own kids. Neighbors here are reporting the same for FCPS.
Only the small township based school districts of the northeast and other parts of the U.S. appear to be largely immune from such trends. Of course, the problem there is funding problems for the poorer towns with more diverse housing types.
It's amazing what happens when you draw lines to exclude poor kids.
So too is what happens when you ignore borders and allow a flood of poorly educated.
My legal immigrant US citizen wife and myself are just waiting until the spring housing market cycle to sell and relocate our family. Job market and public schools brought us here, but with the direction FCPS is heading it no longer sits on the positive column of any decision making criteria. Might as well transfer my kids into the best HS pyramid in another county in VA where there's no influx of undocumented, poorly educated immigrants.
If you think any other county in VA is producing better results than FCPS than by all means, have at it.
You're statement is racist at best and translates to "I don't want my child to be in the vicinity of poor brown children so I shall seek out other whiter areas of the state to reside."
Isn’t that in part the reason that people live in the suburbs? To avoid poor schools? I mean the same thing happens in cities and parts of Appalachia. The color is not really part of the equation.
But the above poster is not trying to avoid poor SCHOOLS, just poor PEOPLE. FCPS has more money and resources and higher student outcomes than any other county in the state. Saying you're going to leave FCPS to find greener pastures in another area of the state is only about avoiding poor people, not to find a better funded, or a better resourced school system, because it doesn't exist.
Outcomes and results vary wildly depending on the area and school, and FCPS has utterly failed certain areas and schools with the budget and resources it has had. Are you raising a family in Fairfax, zoned for one of the top 20 state public high schools, and safe from boundary changes? Good for you, you are in one of the greenest school pastures in the state (that also has low FARMS rates). But, most residents are have-nots and should not be fooled into thinking that because they live in Fairfax their children are receiving a better academic outcome because of the FCPS label.
FCPS is underfunded
FCPS is actually really well funded. They just choose to spend the money on the wrong things.
+100
They could cut out a ton of ridiculous programs and simply get back to basics - to include textbooks. The issue isn't a lack of money.
Anonymous
09/26/2024 21:54
Subject: Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One data point:
My child in Honors 9th grade English at Langley is reading an abridged version of the Odyssey. It’s about 1/3 the length of the original book and the language is simplified.
I read the full book when I was in 9th grade in FCPS and her older cousin also read the full book about 10 years ago in another FCPS high school.
Then have your child read the full book at home. Fairfax County has libraries.
Don’t count on the schools to do as well by your children as they did by you. It’s all about supplementation, homeschooling and private school these days.
Colleague with kids in MCPS says the same general trends discussed here about FCPS also are true there. His oldest was MCPS all the way. Next bailed at MS for private, youngest was moved to private after 2nd grade. They watched the decline in their own kids. Neighbors here are reporting the same for FCPS.
Only the small township based school districts of the northeast and other parts of the U.S. appear to be largely immune from such trends. Of course, the problem there is funding problems for the poorer towns with more diverse housing types.
It's amazing what happens when you draw lines to exclude poor kids.
So too is what happens when you ignore borders and allow a flood of poorly educated.
Bingo. And I would argue that this is WHY we have neighborhoods full of poor kids.
So are you trying to say that only affluent white kids deserve to get an education here in Fairfax County because they lead to more desirable reportable student outcomes????
What? I'm rereading my comment and no, that's not even close to what I said. Do you typically put words in other people's mouths? I was commenting directly to the PP above me. The reason we have neighborhoods full of poor kids in Fairfax County (and so many other counties) is because illegal immigrants have been allowed to flood into the country. Not sure how you could possibly argue with that, but no doubt you'll try.
Anonymous
09/26/2024 21:25
Subject: Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
I don’t even care about scores. My kids do great. I don’t care about FARMs rates. Not my problem. I do care about the lack of discipline. That does affect my kids learning experience.
Anonymous
09/26/2024 21:10
Subject: Re:Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
FCPS is definitely way oversized and has too many competing interests. We should break it up.
But from a budget perspective, FCPS spends a higher % on instructional costs than other schools in the area...and more than many school districts in red areas of VA. It's less "bloated" than those districts.
Percentage of fiscal year division operating expenditures for instructional costs:
FCPS 67.1%
LCPS 65.7%
PWCPS 64.5%
Arlington 58.1%
Wise County (from other thread) 59.7%
Richmond 59.4%
Bristol 58.8%
Lynchburg 55.1%
Fredericksburg 53.8%
https://schoolquality.virginia.gov/divisions/fairfax-county-public-schools#desktopTabs-3
But from a budget perspective, FCPS spends a higher % on instructional costs than other schools in the area...and more than many school districts in red areas of VA. It's less "bloated" than those districts.
Percentage of fiscal year division operating expenditures for instructional costs:
FCPS 67.1%
LCPS 65.7%
PWCPS 64.5%
Arlington 58.1%
Wise County (from other thread) 59.7%
Richmond 59.4%
Bristol 58.8%
Lynchburg 55.1%
Fredericksburg 53.8%
https://schoolquality.virginia.gov/divisions/fairfax-county-public-schools#desktopTabs-3
Anonymous
09/26/2024 19:44
Subject: Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
JLARC is an independent org that did the analysis.
Anonymous
09/26/2024 19:42
Subject: Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One data point:
My child in Honors 9th grade English at Langley is reading an abridged version of the Odyssey. It’s about 1/3 the length of the original book and the language is simplified.
I read the full book when I was in 9th grade in FCPS and her older cousin also read the full book about 10 years ago in another FCPS high school.
Then have your child read the full book at home. Fairfax County has libraries.
Don’t count on the schools to do as well by your children as they did by you. It’s all about supplementation, homeschooling and private school these days.
Colleague with kids in MCPS says the same general trends discussed here about FCPS also are true there. His oldest was MCPS all the way. Next bailed at MS for private, youngest was moved to private after 2nd grade. They watched the decline in their own kids. Neighbors here are reporting the same for FCPS.
Only the small township based school districts of the northeast and other parts of the U.S. appear to be largely immune from such trends. Of course, the problem there is funding problems for the poorer towns with more diverse housing types.
It's amazing what happens when you draw lines to exclude poor kids.
So too is what happens when you ignore borders and allow a flood of poorly educated.
My legal immigrant US citizen wife and myself are just waiting until the spring housing market cycle to sell and relocate our family. Job market and public schools brought us here, but with the direction FCPS is heading it no longer sits on the positive column of any decision making criteria. Might as well transfer my kids into the best HS pyramid in another county in VA where there's no influx of undocumented, poorly educated immigrants.
If you think any other county in VA is producing better results than FCPS than by all means, have at it.
You're statement is racist at best and translates to "I don't want my child to be in the vicinity of poor brown children so I shall seek out other whiter areas of the state to reside."
Isn’t that in part the reason that people live in the suburbs? To avoid poor schools? I mean the same thing happens in cities and parts of Appalachia. The color is not really part of the equation.
But the above poster is not trying to avoid poor SCHOOLS, just poor PEOPLE. FCPS has more money and resources and higher student outcomes than any other county in the state. Saying you're going to leave FCPS to find greener pastures in another area of the state is only about avoiding poor people, not to find a better funded, or a better resourced school system, because it doesn't exist.
Outcomes and results vary wildly depending on the area and school, and FCPS has utterly failed certain areas and schools with the budget and resources it has had. Are you raising a family in Fairfax, zoned for one of the top 20 state public high schools, and safe from boundary changes? Good for you, you are in one of the greenest school pastures in the state (that also has low FARMS rates). But, most residents are have-nots and should not be fooled into thinking that because they live in Fairfax their children are receiving a better academic outcome because of the FCPS label.
FCPS is underfunded
Liar.
This is false, and the PP is trying to gaslight parents into believing FCPS is underfunded.
The schools cry poor while spending money on consultants to conduct surveys they plan to ignore (middle school start times, but there have been so many over the past few years) or do external reviews they don't really use for much (AAP in 2020) or the boundary consultant mess. They continually add more "executive principals" like the one in charge of literacy when the state is handing down curricula so why do we need that? (they don’t. They are just wasting more money).
They could make some cuts at Gatehouse without hurting the quality of education and hire more teachers.
I’m a parent who moved down from an area that prioritizes education and has a higher per pupil cost.
You get what you pay for.
The fact is: FCPS is UNDERfunded.
FCPS has a significant number of higher needs students and isn't funded properly to support all services provided.
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/virginias-largest-school-district-faces-budget-shortfall-teacher-raises-at-risk.amp
"Virginia is underfunding its schools, according to a new government watchdog report.
And a recent study directed by the General Assembly highlights inadequate public school funding in the Commonwealth.
"Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than divisions in other states, and we receive less funding than the national and regional averages," Meren explained. "
https://www.fcps.edu/news/fairfax-county-school-board-adopts-fy-2025-advertised-budget-focused-most-pressing-needs
"Additionally, the County transfer to FCPS over the five year period (FY 2019-23) has averaged 52.6% of the County’s disbursements. The County’s FY 2025 budget proposal provides FCPS 51.4%, a difference of $63 million. The school division’s local transfer request for a 10.5% increase is less than requests from Loudoun County Public Schools’ (11.3%) and Prince William County Public Schools’ (10.6%). There are no new initiatives included in the FCPS Advertised Budget request.
Fairfax County Public Schools is the largest school division in Virginia. When compared to neighboring school districts, FCPS ranks near the bottom in pay for teachers."
"The State of Virginia has historically underfunded FCPS by continuing to use outdated staffing formulas that leave school districts around the Commonwealth lacking the meaningful support needed for excellence in public education. Virginia provides less funding per student than many neighboring states including Maryland, Kentucky, and West Virginia."
https://jlarc.virginia.gov/landing-2023-virginias-k-12-funding-formula.asp
"An effective SOQ formula should account for the higher costs divisions incur because of factors outside their control. Divisions have little or no control over how many higher needs students (at-risk due to poverty, special education, or English learners) live in their division. On average, divisions need more funds to educate these students."
Is your response intended to be some sort of joke?
The first link you provided is from Fox news. It does not even address FCPS, but rather, the entire Commonwealth of Virginia.
The other cites are provided by. . . . FCPS? The very system which stands to financially BENEFIT from falsely portraying itself as underfunded??
I don’t think you have any clue about what you are claiming. I also think you have little to no understanding of how government funding works.
FCPS is bloated and could easily cut out massive waste if they wanted to pay their teachers higher salaries.
Anonymous
09/26/2024 18:37
Subject: Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One data point:
My child in Honors 9th grade English at Langley is reading an abridged version of the Odyssey. It’s about 1/3 the length of the original book and the language is simplified.
I read the full book when I was in 9th grade in FCPS and her older cousin also read the full book about 10 years ago in another FCPS high school.
Then have your child read the full book at home. Fairfax County has libraries.
Don’t count on the schools to do as well by your children as they did by you. It’s all about supplementation, homeschooling and private school these days.
Colleague with kids in MCPS says the same general trends discussed here about FCPS also are true there. His oldest was MCPS all the way. Next bailed at MS for private, youngest was moved to private after 2nd grade. They watched the decline in their own kids. Neighbors here are reporting the same for FCPS.
Only the small township based school districts of the northeast and other parts of the U.S. appear to be largely immune from such trends. Of course, the problem there is funding problems for the poorer towns with more diverse housing types.
It's amazing what happens when you draw lines to exclude poor kids.
So too is what happens when you ignore borders and allow a flood of poorly educated.
My legal immigrant US citizen wife and myself are just waiting until the spring housing market cycle to sell and relocate our family. Job market and public schools brought us here, but with the direction FCPS is heading it no longer sits on the positive column of any decision making criteria. Might as well transfer my kids into the best HS pyramid in another county in VA where there's no influx of undocumented, poorly educated immigrants.
If you think any other county in VA is producing better results than FCPS than by all means, have at it.
You're statement is racist at best and translates to "I don't want my child to be in the vicinity of poor brown children so I shall seek out other whiter areas of the state to reside."
Isn’t that in part the reason that people live in the suburbs? To avoid poor schools? I mean the same thing happens in cities and parts of Appalachia. The color is not really part of the equation.
But the above poster is not trying to avoid poor SCHOOLS, just poor PEOPLE. FCPS has more money and resources and higher student outcomes than any other county in the state. Saying you're going to leave FCPS to find greener pastures in another area of the state is only about avoiding poor people, not to find a better funded, or a better resourced school system, because it doesn't exist.
Outcomes and results vary wildly depending on the area and school, and FCPS has utterly failed certain areas and schools with the budget and resources it has had. Are you raising a family in Fairfax, zoned for one of the top 20 state public high schools, and safe from boundary changes? Good for you, you are in one of the greenest school pastures in the state (that also has low FARMS rates). But, most residents are have-nots and should not be fooled into thinking that because they live in Fairfax their children are receiving a better academic outcome because of the FCPS label.
FCPS is underfunded
Liar.
This is false, and the PP is trying to gaslight parents into believing FCPS is underfunded.
The schools cry poor while spending money on consultants to conduct surveys they plan to ignore (middle school start times, but there have been so many over the past few years) or do external reviews they don't really use for much (AAP in 2020) or the boundary consultant mess. They continually add more "executive principals" like the one in charge of literacy when the state is handing down curricula so why do we need that? (they don’t. They are just wasting more money).
They could make some cuts at Gatehouse without hurting the quality of education and hire more teachers.
I’m a parent who moved down from an area that prioritizes education and has a higher per pupil cost.
You get what you pay for.
The fact is: FCPS is UNDERfunded.
FCPS has a significant number of higher needs students and isn't funded properly to support all services provided.
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/virginias-largest-school-district-faces-budget-shortfall-teacher-raises-at-risk.amp
"Virginia is underfunding its schools, according to a new government watchdog report.
And a recent study directed by the General Assembly highlights inadequate public school funding in the Commonwealth.
"Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than divisions in other states, and we receive less funding than the national and regional averages," Meren explained. "
https://www.fcps.edu/news/fairfax-county-school-board-adopts-fy-2025-advertised-budget-focused-most-pressing-needs
"Additionally, the County transfer to FCPS over the five year period (FY 2019-23) has averaged 52.6% of the County’s disbursements. The County’s FY 2025 budget proposal provides FCPS 51.4%, a difference of $63 million. The school division’s local transfer request for a 10.5% increase is less than requests from Loudoun County Public Schools’ (11.3%) and Prince William County Public Schools’ (10.6%). There are no new initiatives included in the FCPS Advertised Budget request.
Fairfax County Public Schools is the largest school division in Virginia. When compared to neighboring school districts, FCPS ranks near the bottom in pay for teachers."
"The State of Virginia has historically underfunded FCPS by continuing to use outdated staffing formulas that leave school districts around the Commonwealth lacking the meaningful support needed for excellence in public education. Virginia provides less funding per student than many neighboring states including Maryland, Kentucky, and West Virginia."
https://jlarc.virginia.gov/landing-2023-virginias-k-12-funding-formula.asp
"An effective SOQ formula should account for the higher costs divisions incur because of factors outside their control. Divisions have little or no control over how many higher needs students (at-risk due to poverty, special education, or English learners) live in their division. On average, divisions need more funds to educate these students."
Anonymous
09/26/2024 17:03
Subject: Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One data point:
My child in Honors 9th grade English at Langley is reading an abridged version of the Odyssey. It’s about 1/3 the length of the original book and the language is simplified.
I read the full book when I was in 9th grade in FCPS and her older cousin also read the full book about 10 years ago in another FCPS high school.
Then have your child read the full book at home. Fairfax County has libraries.
Don’t count on the schools to do as well by your children as they did by you. It’s all about supplementation, homeschooling and private school these days.
Colleague with kids in MCPS says the same general trends discussed here about FCPS also are true there. His oldest was MCPS all the way. Next bailed at MS for private, youngest was moved to private after 2nd grade. They watched the decline in their own kids. Neighbors here are reporting the same for FCPS.
Only the small township based school districts of the northeast and other parts of the U.S. appear to be largely immune from such trends. Of course, the problem there is funding problems for the poorer towns with more diverse housing types.
It's amazing what happens when you draw lines to exclude poor kids.
So too is what happens when you ignore borders and allow a flood of poorly educated.
My legal immigrant US citizen wife and myself are just waiting until the spring housing market cycle to sell and relocate our family. Job market and public schools brought us here, but with the direction FCPS is heading it no longer sits on the positive column of any decision making criteria. Might as well transfer my kids into the best HS pyramid in another county in VA where there's no influx of undocumented, poorly educated immigrants.
If you think any other county in VA is producing better results than FCPS than by all means, have at it.
You're statement is racist at best and translates to "I don't want my child to be in the vicinity of poor brown children so I shall seek out other whiter areas of the state to reside."
Isn’t that in part the reason that people live in the suburbs? To avoid poor schools? I mean the same thing happens in cities and parts of Appalachia. The color is not really part of the equation.
But the above poster is not trying to avoid poor SCHOOLS, just poor PEOPLE. FCPS has more money and resources and higher student outcomes than any other county in the state. Saying you're going to leave FCPS to find greener pastures in another area of the state is only about avoiding poor people, not to find a better funded, or a better resourced school system, because it doesn't exist.
Outcomes and results vary wildly depending on the area and school, and FCPS has utterly failed certain areas and schools with the budget and resources it has had. Are you raising a family in Fairfax, zoned for one of the top 20 state public high schools, and safe from boundary changes? Good for you, you are in one of the greenest school pastures in the state (that also has low FARMS rates). But, most residents are have-nots and should not be fooled into thinking that because they live in Fairfax their children are receiving a better academic outcome because of the FCPS label.
FCPS is underfunded
Liar.
This is false, and the PP is trying to gaslight parents into believing FCPS is underfunded.
The schools cry poor while spending money on consultants to conduct surveys they plan to ignore (middle school start times, but there have been so many over the past few years) or do external reviews they don't really use for much (AAP in 2020) or the boundary consultant mess. They continually add more "executive principals" like the one in charge of literacy when the state is handing down curricula so why do we need that? (they don’t. They are just wasting more money).
They could make some cuts at Gatehouse without hurting the quality of education and hire more teachers.
Anonymous
09/26/2024 13:39
Subject: Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
Anonymous wrote:I'd be fine with the state providing more funding with FCPS if it came with strings attached as to how FCPS should be using that funding and, more generally, how FCPS should be operating.
But FCPS just wants more money with total discretion to keep spending it on whatever it wants. No thanks.
They want adequate money to pay teachers so they aren't paying near the bottom in the area.
I'm good with that.
Anonymous
09/26/2024 12:13
Subject: Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
I'd be fine with the state providing more funding with FCPS if it came with strings attached as to how FCPS should be using that funding and, more generally, how FCPS should be operating.
But FCPS just wants more money with total discretion to keep spending it on whatever it wants. No thanks.
But FCPS just wants more money with total discretion to keep spending it on whatever it wants. No thanks.
Anonymous
09/26/2024 12:10
Subject: Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One data point:
My child in Honors 9th grade English at Langley is reading an abridged version of the Odyssey. It’s about 1/3 the length of the original book and the language is simplified.
I read the full book when I was in 9th grade in FCPS and her older cousin also read the full book about 10 years ago in another FCPS high school.
Then have your child read the full book at home. Fairfax County has libraries.
Don’t count on the schools to do as well by your children as they did by you. It’s all about supplementation, homeschooling and private school these days.
Colleague with kids in MCPS says the same general trends discussed here about FCPS also are true there. His oldest was MCPS all the way. Next bailed at MS for private, youngest was moved to private after 2nd grade. They watched the decline in their own kids. Neighbors here are reporting the same for FCPS.
Only the small township based school districts of the northeast and other parts of the U.S. appear to be largely immune from such trends. Of course, the problem there is funding problems for the poorer towns with more diverse housing types.
It's amazing what happens when you draw lines to exclude poor kids.
So too is what happens when you ignore borders and allow a flood of poorly educated.
My legal immigrant US citizen wife and myself are just waiting until the spring housing market cycle to sell and relocate our family. Job market and public schools brought us here, but with the direction FCPS is heading it no longer sits on the positive column of any decision making criteria. Might as well transfer my kids into the best HS pyramid in another county in VA where there's no influx of undocumented, poorly educated immigrants.
If you think any other county in VA is producing better results than FCPS than by all means, have at it.
You're statement is racist at best and translates to "I don't want my child to be in the vicinity of poor brown children so I shall seek out other whiter areas of the state to reside."
Isn’t that in part the reason that people live in the suburbs? To avoid poor schools? I mean the same thing happens in cities and parts of Appalachia. The color is not really part of the equation.
But the above poster is not trying to avoid poor SCHOOLS, just poor PEOPLE. FCPS has more money and resources and higher student outcomes than any other county in the state. Saying you're going to leave FCPS to find greener pastures in another area of the state is only about avoiding poor people, not to find a better funded, or a better resourced school system, because it doesn't exist.
Outcomes and results vary wildly depending on the area and school, and FCPS has utterly failed certain areas and schools with the budget and resources it has had. Are you raising a family in Fairfax, zoned for one of the top 20 state public high schools, and safe from boundary changes? Good for you, you are in one of the greenest school pastures in the state (that also has low FARMS rates). But, most residents are have-nots and should not be fooled into thinking that because they live in Fairfax their children are receiving a better academic outcome because of the FCPS label.
FCPS is underfunded
How can FCPS claim it's underfunded when it spends $19,795 per student while Arlington spends $19k and Loudoun just $17.6k? Both of those counties, with lower per-student spending, outperform FCPS in many areas.
Some say Fairfax has a higher COL, but it’s not a huge difference compared to Arlington and Loudoun. So, why is FCPS spending more per student and still underperforming?
Then there’s the $260M surplus Fairfax County recently announced. Most of it went to infrastructure and parks, with little directed toward FCPS. If FCPS is really underfunded, why isn’t more of that surplus going to schools?
At the end of the day, it looks like a mismanagement issue—not just a funding problem. More money isn’t fixing the performance gap, and they're not using the resources they already have efficiently.
No, FCPS has a significant number of higher needs students and isn't funded properly to support all services provided.
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/virginias-largest-school-district-faces-budget-shortfall-teacher-raises-at-risk.amp
"Virginia is underfunding its schools, according to a new government watchdog report.
And a recent study directed by the General Assembly highlights inadequate public school funding in the Commonwealth.
"Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than divisions in other states, and we receive less funding than the national and regional averages," Meren explained. "
https://www.fcps.edu/news/fairfax-county-school-board-adopts-fy-2025-advertised-budget-focused-most-pressing-needs
"Additionally, the County transfer to FCPS over the five year period (FY 2019-23) has averaged 52.6% of the County’s disbursements. The County’s FY 2025 budget proposal provides FCPS 51.4%, a difference of $63 million. The school division’s local transfer request for a 10.5% increase is less than requests from Loudoun County Public Schools’ (11.3%) and Prince William County Public Schools’ (10.6%). There are no new initiatives included in the FCPS Advertised Budget request.
Fairfax County Public Schools is the largest school division in Virginia. When compared to neighboring school districts, FCPS ranks near the bottom in pay for teachers."
"The State of Virginia has historically underfunded FCPS by continuing to use outdated staffing formulas that leave school districts around the Commonwealth lacking the meaningful support needed for excellence in public education. Virginia provides less funding per student than many neighboring states including Maryland, Kentucky, and West Virginia."
https://jlarc.virginia.gov/landing-2023-virginias-k-12-funding-formula.asp
"An effective SOQ formula should account for the higher costs divisions incur because of factors outside their control. Divisions have little or no control over how many higher needs students (at-risk due to poverty, special education, or English learners) live in their division. On average, divisions need more funds to educate these students."
The county has other priorities for the surplus. That doesn't mean that the gap doesn't exist.
For 22-23, the school district per pupil spending:
APS $23,029
LCPS $19,211
FCPS $18,842
https://schoolquality.virginia.gov/divisions/arlington-county-public-schools#desktopTabs-5
https://schoolquality.virginia.gov/divisions/loudoun-county-public-schools#desktopTabs-5
https://schoolquality.virginia.gov/divisions/fairfax-county-public-schools#desktopTabs-5
Anonymous
09/26/2024 11:35
Subject: Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One data point:
My child in Honors 9th grade English at Langley is reading an abridged version of the Odyssey. It’s about 1/3 the length of the original book and the language is simplified.
I read the full book when I was in 9th grade in FCPS and her older cousin also read the full book about 10 years ago in another FCPS high school.
Then have your child read the full book at home. Fairfax County has libraries.
Don’t count on the schools to do as well by your children as they did by you. It’s all about supplementation, homeschooling and private school these days.
Colleague with kids in MCPS says the same general trends discussed here about FCPS also are true there. His oldest was MCPS all the way. Next bailed at MS for private, youngest was moved to private after 2nd grade. They watched the decline in their own kids. Neighbors here are reporting the same for FCPS.
Only the small township based school districts of the northeast and other parts of the U.S. appear to be largely immune from such trends. Of course, the problem there is funding problems for the poorer towns with more diverse housing types.
It's amazing what happens when you draw lines to exclude poor kids.
So too is what happens when you ignore borders and allow a flood of poorly educated.
My legal immigrant US citizen wife and myself are just waiting until the spring housing market cycle to sell and relocate our family. Job market and public schools brought us here, but with the direction FCPS is heading it no longer sits on the positive column of any decision making criteria. Might as well transfer my kids into the best HS pyramid in another county in VA where there's no influx of undocumented, poorly educated immigrants.
If you think any other county in VA is producing better results than FCPS than by all means, have at it.
You're statement is racist at best and translates to "I don't want my child to be in the vicinity of poor brown children so I shall seek out other whiter areas of the state to reside."
Isn’t that in part the reason that people live in the suburbs? To avoid poor schools? I mean the same thing happens in cities and parts of Appalachia. The color is not really part of the equation.
But the above poster is not trying to avoid poor SCHOOLS, just poor PEOPLE. FCPS has more money and resources and higher student outcomes than any other county in the state. Saying you're going to leave FCPS to find greener pastures in another area of the state is only about avoiding poor people, not to find a better funded, or a better resourced school system, because it doesn't exist.
Outcomes and results vary wildly depending on the area and school, and FCPS has utterly failed certain areas and schools with the budget and resources it has had. Are you raising a family in Fairfax, zoned for one of the top 20 state public high schools, and safe from boundary changes? Good for you, you are in one of the greenest school pastures in the state (that also has low FARMS rates). But, most residents are have-nots and should not be fooled into thinking that because they live in Fairfax their children are receiving a better academic outcome because of the FCPS label.
FCPS is underfunded
FCPS is actually really well funded. They just choose to spend the money on the wrong things.
There's no serious effort underway in FCPS to consider whether they should eliminate IB, FLES, AAP centers (as opposed to LLIV), and immersion programs, or whether they may going overboard when it comes to small class sizes for high ESOL/FARMS schools or niche services.
Instead, the only change apparently being considered in the name of "efficiency" is changing school boundaries, which strongly suggests that they aren't truly committed to taking a hard look at total expenditures, but only in shuffling kids around to promote an "equity" agenda and/or avoid accreditation issues. This is further evidenced by their budgeting over $80 million for a new elementary school that is completely unnecessary in Dunn Loring. No school system that really cares about spending would be moving forward with that school project.
All told, it's not a school system that cares about building trust with the community (and, most critically, those who fund most of FCPS's expenses). It's a school system that's led by people who do what they want to do, typically for political reasons; don't care about maximizing academic outcomes or listening to parents; and respond to every criticism by suggesting the problem could be solved if only they were given more money by taxpayers, the state, or the federal government. Since they know that's unlikely to happen, that's basically a giant middle finger to their constituents.
Anonymous
09/26/2024 11:14
Subject: Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One data point:
My child in Honors 9th grade English at Langley is reading an abridged version of the Odyssey. It’s about 1/3 the length of the original book and the language is simplified.
I read the full book when I was in 9th grade in FCPS and her older cousin also read the full book about 10 years ago in another FCPS high school.
Then have your child read the full book at home. Fairfax County has libraries.
Don’t count on the schools to do as well by your children as they did by you. It’s all about supplementation, homeschooling and private school these days.
Colleague with kids in MCPS says the same general trends discussed here about FCPS also are true there. His oldest was MCPS all the way. Next bailed at MS for private, youngest was moved to private after 2nd grade. They watched the decline in their own kids. Neighbors here are reporting the same for FCPS.
Only the small township based school districts of the northeast and other parts of the U.S. appear to be largely immune from such trends. Of course, the problem there is funding problems for the poorer towns with more diverse housing types.
It's amazing what happens when you draw lines to exclude poor kids.
So too is what happens when you ignore borders and allow a flood of poorly educated.
My legal immigrant US citizen wife and myself are just waiting until the spring housing market cycle to sell and relocate our family. Job market and public schools brought us here, but with the direction FCPS is heading it no longer sits on the positive column of any decision making criteria. Might as well transfer my kids into the best HS pyramid in another county in VA where there's no influx of undocumented, poorly educated immigrants.
If you think any other county in VA is producing better results than FCPS than by all means, have at it.
You're statement is racist at best and translates to "I don't want my child to be in the vicinity of poor brown children so I shall seek out other whiter areas of the state to reside."
Isn’t that in part the reason that people live in the suburbs? To avoid poor schools? I mean the same thing happens in cities and parts of Appalachia. The color is not really part of the equation.
But the above poster is not trying to avoid poor SCHOOLS, just poor PEOPLE. FCPS has more money and resources and higher student outcomes than any other county in the state. Saying you're going to leave FCPS to find greener pastures in another area of the state is only about avoiding poor people, not to find a better funded, or a better resourced school system, because it doesn't exist.
Outcomes and results vary wildly depending on the area and school, and FCPS has utterly failed certain areas and schools with the budget and resources it has had. Are you raising a family in Fairfax, zoned for one of the top 20 state public high schools, and safe from boundary changes? Good for you, you are in one of the greenest school pastures in the state (that also has low FARMS rates). But, most residents are have-nots and should not be fooled into thinking that because they live in Fairfax their children are receiving a better academic outcome because of the FCPS label.
FCPS is underfunded
FCPS is actually really well funded. They just choose to spend the money on the wrong things.
Anonymous
09/26/2024 10:04
Subject: Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One data point:
My child in Honors 9th grade English at Langley is reading an abridged version of the Odyssey. It’s about 1/3 the length of the original book and the language is simplified.
I read the full book when I was in 9th grade in FCPS and her older cousin also read the full book about 10 years ago in another FCPS high school.
Then have your child read the full book at home. Fairfax County has libraries.
Don’t count on the schools to do as well by your children as they did by you. It’s all about supplementation, homeschooling and private school these days.
Colleague with kids in MCPS says the same general trends discussed here about FCPS also are true there. His oldest was MCPS all the way. Next bailed at MS for private, youngest was moved to private after 2nd grade. They watched the decline in their own kids. Neighbors here are reporting the same for FCPS.
Only the small township based school districts of the northeast and other parts of the U.S. appear to be largely immune from such trends. Of course, the problem there is funding problems for the poorer towns with more diverse housing types.
It's amazing what happens when you draw lines to exclude poor kids.
So too is what happens when you ignore borders and allow a flood of poorly educated.
My legal immigrant US citizen wife and myself are just waiting until the spring housing market cycle to sell and relocate our family. Job market and public schools brought us here, but with the direction FCPS is heading it no longer sits on the positive column of any decision making criteria. Might as well transfer my kids into the best HS pyramid in another county in VA where there's no influx of undocumented, poorly educated immigrants.
If you think any other county in VA is producing better results than FCPS than by all means, have at it.
You're statement is racist at best and translates to "I don't want my child to be in the vicinity of poor brown children so I shall seek out other whiter areas of the state to reside."
Isn’t that in part the reason that people live in the suburbs? To avoid poor schools? I mean the same thing happens in cities and parts of Appalachia. The color is not really part of the equation.
But the above poster is not trying to avoid poor SCHOOLS, just poor PEOPLE. FCPS has more money and resources and higher student outcomes than any other county in the state. Saying you're going to leave FCPS to find greener pastures in another area of the state is only about avoiding poor people, not to find a better funded, or a better resourced school system, because it doesn't exist.
Outcomes and results vary wildly depending on the area and school, and FCPS has utterly failed certain areas and schools with the budget and resources it has had. Are you raising a family in Fairfax, zoned for one of the top 20 state public high schools, and safe from boundary changes? Good for you, you are in one of the greenest school pastures in the state (that also has low FARMS rates). But, most residents are have-nots and should not be fooled into thinking that because they live in Fairfax their children are receiving a better academic outcome because of the FCPS label.
FCPS is underfunded
How can FCPS claim it's underfunded when it spends $19,795 per student while Arlington spends $19k and Loudoun just $17.6k? Both of those counties, with lower per-student spending, outperform FCPS in many areas.
Some say Fairfax has a higher COL, but it’s not a huge difference compared to Arlington and Loudoun. So, why is FCPS spending more per student and still underperforming?
Then there’s the $260M surplus Fairfax County recently announced. Most of it went to infrastructure and parks, with little directed toward FCPS. If FCPS is really underfunded, why isn’t more of that surplus going to schools?
At the end of the day, it looks like a mismanagement issue—not just a funding problem. More money isn’t fixing the performance gap, and they're not using the resources they already have efficiently.
Anonymous
09/26/2024 10:03
Subject: Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:One data point:
My child in Honors 9th grade English at Langley is reading an abridged version of the Odyssey. It’s about 1/3 the length of the original book and the language is simplified.
I read the full book when I was in 9th grade in FCPS and her older cousin also read the full book about 10 years ago in another FCPS high school.
Then have your child read the full book at home. Fairfax County has libraries.
Don’t count on the schools to do as well by your children as they did by you. It’s all about supplementation, homeschooling and private school these days.
Colleague with kids in MCPS says the same general trends discussed here about FCPS also are true there. His oldest was MCPS all the way. Next bailed at MS for private, youngest was moved to private after 2nd grade. They watched the decline in their own kids. Neighbors here are reporting the same for FCPS.
How can FCPS claim it's underfunded when it spends $19,795 per student while Arlington spends $19k and Loudoun just $17.6k? Both of those counties, with lower per-student spending, outperform FCPS in many areas.
Some say Fairfax has a higher COL, but it’s not a huge difference compared to Arlington and Loudoun. So, why is FCPS spending more per student and still underperforming?
Then there’s the $260M surplus Fairfax County recently announced. Most of it went to infrastructure and parks, with little directed toward FCPS. If FCPS is really underfunded, why isn’t more of that surplus going to schools?
At the end of the day, it looks like a mismanagement issue—not just a funding problem. More money isn’t fixing the performance gap, and they're not using the resources they already have efficiently.
Only the small township based school districts of the northeast and other parts of the U.S. appear to be largely immune from such trends. Of course, the problem there is funding problems for the poorer towns with more diverse housing types.
It's amazing what happens when you draw lines to exclude poor kids.
So too is what happens when you ignore borders and allow a flood of poorly educated.
My legal immigrant US citizen wife and myself are just waiting until the spring housing market cycle to sell and relocate our family. Job market and public schools brought us here, but with the direction FCPS is heading it no longer sits on the positive column of any decision making criteria. Might as well transfer my kids into the best HS pyramid in another county in VA where there's no influx of undocumented, poorly educated immigrants.
If you think any other county in VA is producing better results than FCPS than by all means, have at it.
You're statement is racist at best and translates to "I don't want my child to be in the vicinity of poor brown children so I shall seek out other whiter areas of the state to reside."
Isn’t that in part the reason that people live in the suburbs? To avoid poor schools? I mean the same thing happens in cities and parts of Appalachia. The color is not really part of the equation.
But the above poster is not trying to avoid poor SCHOOLS, just poor PEOPLE. FCPS has more money and resources and higher student outcomes than any other county in the state. Saying you're going to leave FCPS to find greener pastures in another area of the state is only about avoiding poor people, not to find a better funded, or a better resourced school system, because it doesn't exist.
Outcomes and results vary wildly depending on the area and school, and FCPS has utterly failed certain areas and schools with the budget and resources it has had. Are you raising a family in Fairfax, zoned for one of the top 20 state public high schools, and safe from boundary changes? Good for you, you are in one of the greenest school pastures in the state (that also has low FARMS rates). But, most residents are have-nots and should not be fooled into thinking that because they live in Fairfax their children are receiving a better academic outcome because of the FCPS label.
FCPS is underfunded