Superintendent Jack Dale a proposal 9 percent larger than the budget for 2012.
The increase, which amounts to $202.3 million, is driven largely by an estimated enrollment growth of 4,000 students, and the estimated 721 teaching positions needed to accommodate them.
Dale also proposed a 2 percent market scale adjustment for all employees, along with step increase for eligible employees.
Here's a look at how his plan breaks down:
The plan calls for a $2.4 billion operating budget
- Nearly 86 percent, $2.1 billion, goes toward instruction costs
- $132.1 million goes toward transportation, including bus driver salaries, replacement buses and bus operations and maintenance
- $100.8 million goes toward facilities management (maintenance of school buildings and equipment)
- $111.3 million goes toward "general support" (finance, human resources, information technology, purchasing, leadership team)
FY 2013 Proposed Revenue:
Change
Percent Change
County Transfer
$135.8 million
8.4%
State Aid
$24.9 million
7.8%
Sales Tax
$4 million
2.6%
Federal Aid
-$21.8 million
-34.5%
Other
$1.4
2.6%
Budgeted beginning balance
$0.2
0.3%
Student Costs:
- Enrollment Increases: $45.7 million
- Two new schools, at the South County and Lacey sites: $1.9 million
- Reintroducing "Extended Learning Time" (summer school) for students: $5 million
- Adding Foreign Languages in the Elementary Schools (FLES) program to eight new schools, Foreign Language Immersion Program in two others: $0.9 million
- College Success Program: $0.1 million
- Teacher-in-residence at the Udvar Hazy Center: $0.1 million
Staff Costs
- Extended time for teachers (measuring and compensating for professional learning communities, working with colleagues to improve curriculum and grading practices, etc.): $3.3 million
- Staffing reserve (additional positions to address large class sizes): $2 million
- Tuition reimbursement: $1.2 million
- Electronic Curriculum Assessment Resource Tool(eCart): $0.3 million
Staff Compensation Costs
- Two percent market scale adjustment for all employees: $36.6 million
- Step increases for eligible employees: $42 million (offset by retirement and departure savings of $38.2 million)
- Custodial salary adjustment to 1,300 custodians: $0.4 million
- Retirement Rate increases: $66.3 million
- Health and life insurance rate increases:$8.9 million
- Benefits for parent liaisons and multilingual interpreters: $2.0 million
Other:
- Network replacement equipment: $4 million
- Equipment replacement: $3 million
- Preventative maintenance: $2 million
- Service contracts and custodial supplies: $1.7 million
- Building leases: $1 million
- Finance technician contract length: $0.5 million
This is what Fairfax County teachers do - with few exceptions. Some of the finest teachers I know are struggling to make ends meet, and may have to leave the profession, because we are so overpaid. $86,000? Sure - if I earn 30 more graduate credits...and work 22 more years.
I don't understand how a teacher with a Master's and 20 years experience is making only 50K. I just looked at the salary schedule on FCPS and the starting salary for a teacher with a Master's is right at $50,000--a teacher with 20 years experience should be making in the 70's. I do understand the concerns about the pay, however, I think teachers also need to realize that there are many starting salaries--even for college graduates -that are not as good as those teachers are making. I say this is a person who taught for a number of years. I agree that teachers work very, very hard. They also earn every penny they make. It is a tough job. From my point of view, FCPS is not spending and allotting the money properly. I think far too much is staying at Gatehouse. No matter how much "assistance" and "support" is offered at Gatehouse, the teaching and learning happen in the classroom. The instructional support at Gatehouse are mostly justifying their jobs by requiring paperwork from teachers. Put the teachers in the classroom.
For those of you wondering where the numbers are coming from, look at http://www.fcps.edu/employment/. According to that, master's plus 20 years ought to be making somewhere in the 70ks, but I know for a fact many are not. And those of you who think this is a lot of money -- the median income in Fairfax is over $100k, and the average home costs over $400k. You cannot buy a home worth more than three times your income without a significant downpayment, which is why teachers can't afford to live here. http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/demogrph/gendemo.htm#inc
I just wanted to make sure nobody gets the wrong impression: While CIPs are funded by taxpayer money, it is a separate pool of money than the fiscal year budget.