The School Board of the Falls Church City Public Schools formally adopted unanimously Tuesday night a Fiscal Year 2023 budget that it has advanced to City Manager Wyatt Shields to be included in his overall coming fiscal year budget.

The employee compensation features of the budget are a step increase for eligible employees, a recovery step from Fiscal Year 2021 for eligible employees, a cost of living increase of 2.25 percent, a $3,000 per year stipend for National Board Certified Teachers, a one-time $1,000 bonus for staff at the end of their salary lane and a $15 per hour minimum wage effective March 1, 2022.

Working condition improvements include career and technical education, math and science teacher educational opportunities, the addition of school nurse and psychologist positions and a secondary campus parent liaison.

It was announced that “outstanding fiscal and project management” in the $120 million new high school construction project, that led to $100,000 in unspent project funding will be returned to the general government.

The board learned that enrollment in the F.C. system is down only 0.3 percent in the current school year, despite all the issues around the pandemic, which is less than the 0.8 percent levels of drop off in the neighboring Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax school systems.