Feb. 6 school board meeting open for public comment on FY25 budget

By Audrey Carpenter

A special Loudoun County School Board Meeting will be held on Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. with a public hearing and Board adoption of the FY25 budget. Those wishing to participate should visit the Citizen Participation page of the LCPS website.

School Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence introduced a $1.8 billion budget to the new school board Jan. 18, a 9.4% increase from FY24. This proposed budget equates to $21,789 per student.

The budget includes investments in the “One LCPS: 2027 Strategic Plan for Excellence” which focuses on empowering students, recruitment and retaining staff, enriching the division, and engaging with the community.

“Our ability to offer attractive salaries and benefits packages bolsters our ability to recruit and retain an exemplary workforce,” Dr. Spence said. The proposed budget includes step increases and top of scale payments and a 4% cost of living adjustment for the universal and auxiliary salary scales with an average 4% strategic teacher scale adjustment. Also included is the Governor’s proposed initiative for a one-time 1% bonus payment to all eligible full-time employees. Personnel costs are 90% of the total school operating budget.

Sixty positions have been added to staff two new schools opening in the Fall – Watson Mountain Middle School at 41480 Steeplechase Dr. in Leesburg and Henrietta Lacks Elementary School at 41125 Collaboration Dr. in Aldie.

More than 100 positions have been added to directly support students who require additional resources, and 72.8 positions were added that will be school-based to support new initiatives, such as establishing a new Alternative School, beginning the transition of the STEP program to full day, providing additional Student Support Specialists, and providing flexible staffing for our schools.

Also included are funds to support ongoing or expanded School Board supported initiatives such as the next phase of the dual language immersion program and expansion of middle school intramural sports to all middle schools. The SEON also includes resources to launch the Health and Medical Science Academy and to continue making substitute teacher rates more competitive.

The public can view the presentation to the School Board or review the full FY 2025 Estimate of Needs on the Budget Information website. Those wishing to learn more about the proposed budget are invited to attend or view the upcoming work sessions. The meetings, which do not include public comment, will be held in the Boardroom at the LCPS Administration Building, 21000 Education Court, Ashburn, VA on the following dates:

• 1/25/2024 at 4:30 pm
• 1/30/2024 at 4:30 pm
• 2/1/2024 at 4:30 pm