Superintendent Jack Dale proposed a record $2.4 billion budget for Fairfax County Public Schools on Thursday, citing the booming enrollment of students with challenges. Dale is asking the county to put up $1.75 billion, an 8.4 percent increase over fiscal 2012, when the Board of Supervisors gave the schools a flat transfer after cutting their budget the year before.

“I’m required to put forth a budget that meets the functions of the school system, and I don’t think I’ve even done that,” said Dale, defending the relatively large request. “I’m undercutting the needs of the school system.”