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Note: This newsletter contains links to translated versions of the content for your convenience. These translations are generated by Google Translate and are not intended to be a substitute for professional translation services.
Dear Dranesville Families,
I want to thank everyone who took the time to speak at the Budget Hearing this week. While I was not able to be in person, I watched on YouTube until the last speaker finished. My absence was due to my annual involvement with National Police Week, where I have been a counselor/support with kids/teens who lost a parent or a sibling in the line of duty. Thank you for understanding why I was not able to be in person for the Budget Hearing.
As you all know, this has been an extremely difficult budget year since the Board of Supervisors (BOS) was not able to fund the entire transfer ask from Dr. Reid. Her needs-based budget focused on compensation to ensure that FCPS offered the highest first year salaries to teachers in the master’s lane. The gap required the bargaining unit to return to the table and renegotiate the contract. As a board member, I am not privy to what is being negotiated nor what is agreed upon.
Since learning of the proposed cuts, I have been working hard to find a way to restore both the AART and SPED Chair positions back to full time.
Finally, I am incredibly grateful to the BOS for adding the meals tax. This provides a new source of revenue to fund the county and school system moving forward. What I did not realize is that this would lead to a small cut in the real estate tax rate for this year. It is my hope that the BOS and FCPS will begin working on annual budget earlier in future years. And I hope that the commonwealth will change their funding formula, address the findings of the JLARC study, and fund public schools moving forward. I believe this will require a tremendous amount of advocacy from parents and students.
I want to share my condolences on the passing of Janie Strauss, the longtime Dranesville School Board member. In 1991, she was appointed as an At-Large School Board member for a two-year term. She was the first elected Dranesville School Board member and served 23 years, 1996- 2019. Before serving as a school board member, she earned a Master of Arts in Teaching and was a preschool and elementary teacher, advocate, Franklin Sherman Elementary School PTA president, Fairfax County Council of PTAs president, and mother of 4 FCPS students. After retiring from the School Board, she continued her leadership of The Cappies, a writing and awards program that honors student theatre programs and critics. She received the 2021 Dranesville District’s Lady Fairfax in honor of her service to our Dranesville community. I met Mrs. Strauss several times during my tenure at FCPS. I appreciated her wisdom and support during my School Board campaign. She will be missed.
It is hard to believe we are in the last few weeks of school! I am excited to attend the upcoming Dranesville high school graduation ceremonies.
See you around Dranesville,
Robyn
In this newsletter,
At National Police Week with FCPS Staff Members
School Board Updates
May 8, 2025 Regular Meeting
Board Meeting Highlights
Action Items
The School Board approved the Student Rights and Responsibilities regulation for SY 2025-2026 (SR&R), including the following amendments:
- To amend Page 6, Section IX: Monitoring and Enforcement of Regulation 2601.39 to add the word “dispositions,” after “required intervention,” and before “and factors” so that it now reads: "The Chief Equity Office, in collaboration with the Office of the Chief of Schools, shall conduct a semester review of all discipline cases involving weapons, assault, and assault and battery to determine use of required intervention, dispositions and factors considered prior to issuing a suspension for the related violations."
- To amend page 17 of the proposed Students Rights and Responsibilities regulation related to 9th-12th grade cell phone use to say the following: “Cell phone use is restricted, and cell phones may only be used on campus before the first bell, after the last bell, and during lunches.
In a related action, the School Board approved this follow-on motion to the SR&R:
- That the School Board direct the Superintendent to develop a process requiring parents/guardians and students to acknowledge and agree that cell phones, smart watches, and other wearable devices are the sole responsibility of parents/guardians/caregivers and students while they are on FCPS property or attending FCPS sanctioned events, similar to those guidelines used to manage other Bring Your Own Devices. These guidelines should include but are not limited to statements acknowledging that FCPS is not responsible for providing charging spaces for or the care of such devices; that FCPS is not responsible for the security, safety, loss, damage, or theft of such device; and that the students must abide by the Acceptable Use Policy in the Student Rights and Responsibilities document if they bring one of these devices onto FCPS property or to FCPS sanctioned events.
The School Board also awarded an intergovernmental contract to the Alexandria City School Board regarding professional development services for supporting Multilingual Learners.
Presentations to the School Board
Dr. Reid presented the proposed FY 2026 Approved Budget. This budget details the Superintendent's recommended adjustments to the FY 2026 Advertised Budget, which are required to balance that budget.
Dr. Reid presented Academic Matters on Classroom on Wheels.
My Visit to Cooper MS's After School Program
FY 2026 Budget
Dr. Reid presented our amended Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget to the School Board at its May 8th meeting. We will continue to be budget focused in the coming weeks as we finalize fiscal details for the coming year.
FY 2026 Approved Budget Timeline
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May 8, 2025- Dr. Reid presented the FY 2026 Approved Budget proposal to the Fairfax County School Board.
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May 13, 2025- The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted their budget.
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May 13, 2025- The School Board heard testimony of 187 speakers at the Budget Public Hearing.
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May 20, 2025- Budget Committee Meeting of the Whole
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May 22, 2025- The School Board scheduled to adopt the FY 2026 Approved Budget.
Upcoming School Board Meetings
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Tuesday, May 20, 5 p.m.- Budget Committee Meeting
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Thursday, May 22, 7 p.m.- Regular Meeting
All times and topics are subject to change.
How to watch meetings and sign up to speak
FCPS Updates
Comprehensive Boundary Review
Phase 2 Community Comprehensive Boundary Review Meetings- May and June
Registration links are now available for our Phase 2 upcoming community comprehensive boundary review meetings. At the meetings, we will provide updated information and take you through three initial proposed scenarios. You will be able to look up your address and discuss the proposed boundary adjustments for each of the three scenarios in small groups in person or in breakout rooms online. In addition, we will be using an interactive tool that will allow feedback to be shared at the meetings.
Each meeting will be hybrid, meaning that you may attend in person or virtually via Zoom. Childcare for in-person participants and language interpretation for all participants will be available as needed.
Please click on one of the dates below to register for a meeting:
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Monday, May 19, 6:30-8 p.m., at Herndon High School
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Friday, May 23, 7-8:30 p.m., at Lewis High School
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Wednesday, May 28, 7-8:30 p.m., at Annandale High School
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Thursday, May 29, 6:30-8 p.m., at Whitman Middle School
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Friday, May 30, 6:30-8 p.m., at Chantilly High School
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Friday, June 6, 6:30-8 p.m., at Glasgow Middle School
We encourage you to visit our Comprehensive Boundary Review webpage for more information, including an updated timeline for the boundary review process.
Initial Draft Boundary Scenarios
 Feedback from 12 community meetings during Phase 1 of FCPS’ comprehensive boundary review offered key insights into the community’s perspectives and needs. Our partner, Thru Consulting, collected and analyzed that feedback as well as the input received via email and our online platform. This data informed the creation of three initial draft boundary scenarios: Neighborhood Connectivity, Cohort Continuity, and Comprehensive Balance. Now, you can explore and visualize how these initial scenarios may affect boundaries by using our new Boundary Explorer Tool.
Superintendent's Boundary Review Advisory Committee Meetings
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