Arlington Public Schools’ proposed fiscal year 2027 budget reflects challenging economic conditions and uncertainty over state and federal education funding commitments.
Superintendent Francisco Durán’s $856 million proposal represents an increase of 1.3% from the current budget, one of the smallest year-over-year rates of growth in recent years.
“I have prioritized schools-based, student-facing positions,” Durán told School Board members in unveiling his draft spending package last night (Thursday).
The proposal stays within the estimated $650.3 million in funding expected to come from the county government, and lays out nearly $19 million in unfunded needs to be prioritized if additional revenue materializes.
The budget, Durán’s sixth as superintendent, represents “a careful balance,” he said, “focused on student academic success and well-being.”
“Reductions were made thoughtfully with minimal impacts on students and services,” the superintendent told School Board members.
The package’s expectation of just over $650 million in county funding is in line with the Feb. 21 budget proposal of County Manager Mark Schwartz. That funding would represent nearly 76% of school system revenue.
Unlike many states, Virginia does not give its school districts independent taxing authority. Most districts in wealthier areas of the commonwealth, including Arlington’s, rely on funding from the local government for most budget revenue.
The draft budget plan acknowledges a number of unknowns, including the ultimate amount of funding trickling down from the state and federal governments.
School Board Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton said school leaders anticipated a “modest amount” of additional funding coming out of budget negotiations currently taking place in Richmond.
But, she said, “it is unlikely to be a significant increase” beyond what is in the budget proposal.
State funds represent about 15% of anticipated revenues in Durán’s budget proposal.
The school system stands to benefit from changes being made to the Virginia Retirement System funding formula. Those revisions are slated to provide about $15 million in local savings for the coming school fiscal year.
While the federal government provides less than 3% of operating revenues for the school system, questions remain on how potential funding changes would impact the local school budget.
“We are very conscious of the need to engage in contingency planning,” Zecher Sutton said.
The budget plan calls for an average pay increase of 4.45% for school system personnel, coming at a cost of about $26 million.
“Recruiting and retaining a high-quality workforce is foundational,” Durán said.
The proposal includes no new major initiatives.
“There are several important priorities that are not funded,” the superintendent said. “I wish I could, [but] that was not possible.”
School Board members will hold a joint work session with their County Board colleagues on March 24. A public hearing on budget issues is slated for April 14, with final adoption set for mid-May.
“This is a thoughtful and multi-step process that we take seriously,” Zecher Sutton said.
While Arlington’s school budget proposal lives within funding expected from the county government, officials in neighboring Fairfax County continue to wrangle over an approximately $40 million discrepancy between what is being sought by Superintendent Michelle Reid and what County Executive Bryan Hill has offered.
At a Feb. 24 work session between Fairfax supervisors and School Board members, the governing bodies made attempts to stop fighting each other over the $4 billion school budget and focus on obtaining additional revenue from the state government.
In Falls Church, City Manager Wyatt Shields will present his budget proposal in March, laying out how much funding he believes should be funneled to that school division.
