County school leaders, both elected and staff, will be presenting a united front as the fiscal 2026 budget season fast approaches.
In a change from typical practice, the Arlington School Board and superintendent will present a joint budget in mid-March, Board members decided Dec. 12.
Traditionally, the superintendent (currently Francisco Durán) presents a draft budget in mid-winter, then Board members present their own revisions later after a round of public engagement.
A final budget is then approved by the School Board after County Board members adopt a budget and set tax rates in April.
School Board Chair Mary Kadera said the unitary budget proposal would serve best in a year in which both the school system and county government are facing tough fiscal choices.
The new arrangement “is in no way meant to circumvent the careful public deliberation we know needs to happen,” Kadera said.
“There will be plenty of time for community engagement,” she said.
Adoption of a final budget under the new calendar is slated for May 1. The new fiscal year starts July 1.
Unlike many states, school boards in Virginia do not have taxing authority. The county government funds about 80% of the school system’s annual budget, which for fiscal 2025 totals $826 million.
Under a revenue-sharing agreement, the school system in fiscal 2025 received 48.6% of county General Fund revenues. The percentage could change but the agreement framework is expected to continue for fiscal 2026.
While County Board members determine how much the school system receives each year, they have no say in how that money ultimately is spent.
Kadera said the joint Board-Durán budget would be unveiled March 13. That is one day after a scheduled work session between School Board members and their County Board colleagues.
Between now and then, Kadera asked advisory bodies and to public to “please keep the ideas coming” for ways to make the 28,000-student system more efficient.
While figures for fiscal 2025 are not yet published, Arlington Public Schools had the highest per-student spending ($24,612) in the D.C. suburbs for fiscal 2024, according to the annual Washington Area Boards of Education (WABE) compendium.
The school systems in Falls Church ($23,735) and Alexandria ($21,356) were the only two other districts covered in the WABE report to post per-student levels above $20,000 for fiscal 2024. The 2025 report is expected out in coming weeks.
County leaders are telegraphing that real-estate tax rates are likely to rise in the coming year to fill a budget gap currently estimated at $30 million to $40 million.
That would mean homeowners would be faced for the second year in a row with a double-whammy: An increased tax rate coupled with higher assessments related to rising property values.
The tax burden, one split roughly 50/50 between the residential and commercial sectors, is edging closer to 60/40 residential because of the ongoing, significant decline in valuations of commercial property.
Those declines are likely to last for at least the next five years, County Manager Mark Schwartz has told County Board members.
