Fairfax County Public Schools formally launched its fiscal year 2028 budget development with a Budget Committee work session on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

The session comes as the district braces for cuts that officials expect will land closer to the $153.9 million slashed in FY2026 than the $117.6 million cut in FY2027. FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid confirmed the kickoff in her weekly reflections published Sunday, Sept. 13, noting that the presentation includes projections for a potential funding gap and information about hypothetical reductions.

As we reported Monday, Sept. 14, Chief Financial Officer Leigh Burden told the committee that anticipated revenue from county transfers and state funding will fall short of costs driven by collective bargaining agreements, healthcare, retirement, Special Education Extended Day and multi-year investments.

Burden warned that the share of county funds going to FCPS has dropped from 52.8% in fiscal year 2020 to 51.1% in fiscal year 2027. That decline represents an erosion of nearly $340 million.

The numbers are stark. At the Tuesday, Sept. 8 session, Burden said increasing class size by one student would save roughly $35 million, as reported by FFXnow. Central office has already been asked to prepare 5% reduction options. Other hypothetical cuts under consideration include staff compensation, needs-based staffing and reductions to state-level requirements.

Reid is scheduled to deliver a fiscal forecast in November and propose a budget in January 2027. The school board is expected to vote on the proposal in February 2027.

Purple Star expansion

Separately, FCPS is pushing to earn designation as a Purple Star Division, which recognizes school districts that support military-connected students and families. Ninety-six FCPS schools have already earned individual Purple Star designations, according to Reid's reflections. The district recently submitted its application for the division-wide honor, with a goal of every school earning the designation by the end of the 2026-27 school year.

More than 13,500 military-connected students attend FCPS schools, and nearly one-third of military families transition into or out of the district each year. Reid, who was a military-connected child and is the mother of a Marine, hosted the second annual Military Families Welcome BBQ at Lake Braddock Secondary School the week of Tuesday, Sept. 8.

The FY2028 budget kickoff presentation is available on BoardDocs, the district's online document portal. The full work session is on YouTube.