The City of Fairfax School Board approved the $76.9 million FY 2026 budget at their meeting on Monday, February 3. .
The main drivers of the Fairfax city school budget are city student average daily membership (ADM) projections and Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) operating costs. The City of Fairfax pays FCPS a tuition fee based on the number of city students in addition to a percentage of the FCPS operating costs. The largest section of the budget will be a $71.4 million payment for the projected 2992 city students to FCPS through the School Services Agreement. The City of Fairfax also pays 1.64 percent of the FCPS operating costs. In 2024, the operating costs for FCPS was approximately $3.72 billion.
The budget includes in $280,000 supplemental instructional funds to the City schools that assist with student supports such summer programing, transition programs for students attending a new school, and professional development for city school staff.
Jeff Platenberg, superintendent will present the budget to the city council on March 4, 2025.