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Residents urge delay and data fixes as FCPS releases FY2026–30 Capital Improvement Plan
Summary
Community members at a Fairfax County Public Schools public hearing said the draft FY2026–30 Capital Improvement Plan relies on outdated enrollment projections, lacks transparency, and arrived too close to the hearing date. Speakers urged the board to postpone adoption until forecasts and documentation are corrected.
Speakers at a public hearing before the Fairfax County School Board on the proposed FY2026–30 Capital Improvement Plan urged the board to delay approval and improve the data and transparency underlying the plan.
The speakers said the draft CIP — released about a week before the hearing — uses enrollment projections the system has repeatedly missed, excludes many approved housing projects from five‑year forecasts, and contains unexplained adjustments to program capacities that change how projects are prioritized.
Why it matters: The CIP guides billions in facilities spending and boundary decisions; inaccurate projections can lead to overcrowding or underused facilities and affect where the board places renovation and expansion projects.
Multiple speakers highlighted common concerns. Jennifer Falcone, co-chair of the Great Falls Citizens Association special committee on schools, said the CIP became available “just 1 week before the public hearing” and urged “more time for analysis” and “stricter emphasis on acquiring reliable data.” Scott Jones, director of the nonprofit Fairfax Matters, said the renovation queue appears to deviate from objective priorities and recommended rejecting the CIP in its current form. Several commenters, including Mike Byrne and another resident who identified himself as John Smith, said the CIP limits projections to projects already under construction instead of including approved projects likely to be completed within five years.
Mike Byrne, a parent, said the practice of counting only projects already under construction means FCPS “is constantly playing catch up” and that program capacity numbers have been adjusted “without any clear explanation.” John Smith said he analyzed FCPS worksheets and web data with automated tools and found the draft CIP “little changed” and called the process “severely out of date.”
Speakers recommended specific fixes: incorporate approved but not-yet‑started residential developments into projections using probabilistic assumptions; publish methodology and data supporting program capacity changes; lengthen the public review window for a 300‑plus page document; and give the Boundary Review Advisory Committee access to reliable data. Abraq Reshi, a Great Falls parent, asked for “reliable data, sound and explainable insights, and full transparency” before any boundary work proceeds.
Board process and timing: At the hearing, staff noted the board will consider final action on the CIP at its regular meeting on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. Several speakers urged the board to use the intervening weeks to correct projection methodology and to provide clearer documentation to the public.
Ending: Speakers framed the issues as long‑running and systemic, urging the board to fix forecasting and process problems before adopting a five‑year plan that directs renovations, new construction and boundary changes.
