Faced with the ugly task of closing an expected $145 million budget shortfall next year, Fairfax school officials are considering cancellation of the annual salary increase that allows employees to keep pace with the cost of living.
The cost-of-living freeze, the largest of dozens of belt-tightening measures proposed by the superintendent this month, would save the school system $52 million. Officials, however, say all of those cuts are far from certain.
The move is likely to prompt a backlash from teachers’ groups who say the pay increases are necessary to help Fairfax attract and retain the best educators and maintain its ranking as one of the best school districts in the country.
“We’re in a competitive market, not only with Virginia school districts, but also with Montgomery County, Prince George’s and other places,” said Ken Reinshuttle, executive director of the Fairfax Education Association. “The housing in Fairfax is very expensive, we [have] a high cost of living.”
School Board member Phillip Niedzielski-Eichner, the board’s budget liaison, said the freeze would be difficult for him to accept, and the board would likely seek a more than 2 percent increase for cost-of-living. He acknowledged, however, that “everything has to be on the table.”
“The budget circumstances are such that the superintendent has to consider all options,” he said.
Other measures under consideration to shave costs are increasing general education class size by one student, which would save $16 million, adjusting preschool teacher schedules, which would save $4 million, and $3 million worth of cuts to equipment replacement.
Much of the decision will hinge on how much the county and
state – which face their own severe shortfalls – will transfer to the school system.
