City, FCCPS to Start FY 2013 Budget Talks

The City of Falls Church City Council and the Falls Church City Public Schools Board will hold the first of several planned joint work sessions.

Patrick Riccards, chair of the FCCPS Board, said it is essential that the school board and City Council begin the process working from the same set of numbers and having similar expectations.  

“During last year's budget process, the Board and the Council agreed to a multi-year budgeting process which called for a nearly five-percent increase in the City Transfer to FCCPS,” Riccards said. “An increase in the transfer is essential, both because of the significant cuts the schools have endured in recent years and because of the continued enrollment growth we are seeing.  If we are to deliver the high-quality education Falls Church residents expect, along with the relatively low class sizes the City has enjoyed, we need to properly budget for such.”

In April, . FCCPS received a $27.8 million transfer from the city. Tuesday, the city and school system will meet inside the library at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School at 7:30 p.m. Riccards said the session was planned to start working on the fiscal year 2013 budget.

Riccards said the school system, like the city, has been on a severe budgetary diet. He said an investment in the public schools, even beyond the increase already agreed to, is an investment that will deliver real return for all taxpayers.

“Our per-pupil expenditures are at the lowest point we have seen in decades,” Riccards said. “The strength of our city depends, in part, on the strength of our schools.”