FCPS families face a $568.7 million annual funding gap, and the debate over who is to blame spilled into the open at a joint work session Tuesday, Oct. 6.

Fairfax County's state legislators told local supervisors and school board members to tone down their criticism of state K-12 funding during the roughly 100-minute session, first reported by FFXnow.

"Be thoughtful about the way you talk," Del. Laura Jane Cohen (D-16) told the Board of Supervisors. She clenched her fists and hit them together to show the delegation's frustration with the criticism.

The $568.7 million figure comes from the district's own budget page, which cites a 2023 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) study using FY 2021 data. That gap works out to roughly $3,100 per student. About 70% of FCPS' $4.1 billion budget comes from Fairfax County, funded largely through real estate taxes.

The JLARC study found Virginia spends about $1,900 less per student than the national average after adjusting for labor costs. Three Great Recession-era formula changes still in place reduced state funding by $487 million in FY 2022 alone.

State legislators countered that Virginia's 2026-2028 budget, signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger in June, includes what the governor's office called a record $2 billion in new education funding along with 4% raises for teachers and support staff.

Del. Kathy Tran (D-18) was among the first to push back against county leaders blaming the 22-member, all-Democratic Fairfax delegation for funding shortfalls. She urged local officials to work toward a more collaborative relationship. State Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-38) said respectful interaction was the necessary starting point.

Cohen also pressed county leaders on a missed opportunity. The General Assembly gave localities authority to hold referendums on a 1% sales tax increase for school construction. The Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously in June to support putting the question on the ballot. Supervisors never took it up.

Only the city of Fairfax placed the measure before voters in Northern Virginia. The Virginia Mercury reported 47 localities statewide will have the 1% sales tax question on the Nov. 3 ballot.

"There is always a reason given for why we don't want to do it," Cohen said of county leaders declining to use the new authority.

Over the past decade, FCPS has cut $852.8 million through reductions, cost avoidances and fee increases to match available funding, according to district budget documents. The School Board adopted the FY 2026 budget on May 22 while addressing a $121 million shortfall.

By the session's close, Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said participants were speaking with each other rather than at each other. Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman acknowledged both sides share the same goals.

The next budget milestone is a Dec. 1 joint meeting between the School Board and the Board of Supervisors to discuss the budget forecast. The superintendent is scheduled to release the proposed FY 2028 budget on Jan. 14, 2027.