Fairfax County Schools Protect Central Administration While Classrooms Absorb the Cost of Shrinking Enrollment
Source: Stephanie Lundquist-Arora. "Fairfax County Shows How Not to Manage Shrinking Enrollment." October 14, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that Fairfax County schools, facing fewer students, cut classroom resources and made classes bigger while the central office kept growing and paying high salaries and perks. She says this is irresponsible given weak test results and a costly new high school built for students who haven't shown up. Other districts should cut administration before they cut classrooms.
Conclusion
Fairfax County Public Schools' leadership has managed falling enrollment badly and irresponsibly by cutting school-level staffing and increasing class sizes while protecting and growing central administration, and other districts facing enrollment decline should do the opposite by trimming administration instead of increasing class sizes.
Premises
- FCPS enrollment has fallen about 9 percent (roughly 17,000 students) since 2019, and the district is currently enrolling about 4,200 fewer students than its budget projected, so it must make hard cuts.
- To balance its budget, FCPS cut its school staffing reserve and increased class sizes through a staffing-formula change, so classrooms are bearing the cost of the decline.
- From FY2022 to FY2027, non-school-based positions grew 5.7 percent while school-based positions grew 3.3 percent, and top administrators receive high pay and perks (71 earn over $200,000, the superintendent earns more than the president, and administrators receive sponsored conference travel and doctoral programs).
- The district's academic results are weak and declining: about 1 in 5 students failed SOL reading and math, about 2 in 5 economically disadvantaged students failed each subject, average SAT scores fell from 1218 to 1183, and 28 schools are federally identified for support.
- The $150 million Skyview High School purchase added capacity for demand that has not materialized, and other high schools are under-enrolled, showing poor planning despite years of warning.
- A district asking classrooms to absorb larger classes and thinner staffing must show that central administration is absorbing cuts too, and FCPS has not done so; the symbolic perks matter for credibility even though they are a small share of the budget.
Assumptions
- Larger class sizes and thinner school staffing harm educational quality more than equivalent cuts to central administration would.
- Central administrative positions and spending are largely 'bloated' and can be cut without significant harm to educational outcomes or operations.
- Administrative growth and perks are discretionary choices rather than responses to legitimate legal, operational, or student-support needs.
- Fairfax's poor academic outcomes and enrollment loss are attributable to leadership priorities (equity focus, closures, screens) rather than broader demographic, economic, or immigration-related factors.
- The FCPS case generalizes to other districts facing enrollment decline.
- Credibility and symbolic shared sacrifice matter enough to justify focus on small budget items that cannot close the deficit.
- A 2.4 percentage point gap in position growth rates (5.7 vs 3.3 percent) demonstrates that the central office is being 'protected first'.