Taking its place for the first time as a major factor in the City of Falls Church annual budget process, collective bargaining in the shaping of teacher and other employee compensations was felt in the first public steps toward a FY26 budget taken at the City Council meeting this Monday.

This is the first year that collective bargaining has figured into the budget process, based on a new law passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 2021 that allowed for public sector bargaining for the first time. Subsequently, the Falls Church School Board voted in May 2023 to allow it here.  

So, based on the agreement that was hammered out behind the scenes since 2021, employee compensation for Falls Church City public schools was determined to include a minimum of one full “step” and a 2.5 percent cost of living adjustment (COLA) raises for all employees.

That number dropped into the mix of budget numbers was a definite factor in what Council came forward with at its meeting, namely a unanimously adopted resolution that opened the possibility of a tax rate increase, if modest, in the coming year’s deliberations.

Three members of the Falls Church City Education Association (FCCEA), the bargaining entity for school system employees, came before the City Council Monday to articulate their position that shaped last spring’s collective bargaining agreement.

FCCEA President Pam Mahoney, a teacher at Meridian High School and a City resident and taxpayer, reported to the Council that the FCCEA “has one of the highest concentrations of members in all of Virginia. We represent all staff, not just teachers,” while noting that only licensed and support staff can bargain for a contract.

The contract agreed to “guarantees, among other things, reasonable wages and benefits, especially in light of significant inflation over the last few years,” she said. Still, she added, despite efforts that have raised FCCPS salaries to among the top three in the area, “our staff salaries in Virginia are still considerably behind the national average, even compared to D.C. and Maryland, and salaries for teachers in Northern Virginia are up to 30 percent less than our peers with the same amount of education, as noted by Forbes Magazine.”

She added, “In fact, the Economic Policy Institute finds Virginia’s teacher

wage penalty, the gap between education attainment and commensurate private sector pay, to be the worst in the nation,” a problem that needs to be addressed at multiple levels in the state “if Falls Church wants to continue to be able to be competitive in our hiring.”

Kenny George, a teacher at Meridian High, FCCEA board member and City resident, told the Council that “we must be financially prepared as a city and a public school system to greet any new students as a result of growth with the staffing and support that make Falls Church City and its school system a gold standard.”

“It’s not lost on me that our future in Falls Church, and the greater DMV, is uncertain. We will have a new executive administration in January. A lot of economic development within our city is slated to come online in the upcoming months, and there are other unknowns,” he said, adding, “Although a transfer greater than organic growth will mean other budgetary challenges will arise, I truly believe it is important that we make the investment to fund the school budget.”

Emily Donovan, the daughter of two lifetime Falls Church residents, the parent of two FCCPS graduates, a teacher at Mt. Daniel Elementary and vice-president of the FCCEA, noted the recent years’ changes in the national economic landscape. “The cost of living has risen, but for many of us in education, our salaries have not kept pace. We’ve seen a growing disparity between the cost of living and the pay we receive. When surrounding districts are discussing COLAs of more than 2.5 percent, we are concerned about FCCPS’ ability to retain and recruit the best teachers.”

She added, “We ask for school funding that allows the School Board to both honor their contract with us and to deal with growth-related issues that are results of the City’s effective planning for economic growth. We believe that by working together, we can create a system where our school staff are both recognized and supported, and where the quality of education remains a priority for all of us.”

Meanwhile, the School Board has kicked off an effort to find a replacement for Superintendent Dr. Peter Noonan, who has announced his retirement after a long career in education that included eight years at the head of FCCPS. Noonan was present for the first meetings on the new budget, the joint work session with the City Council December 2, and this week’s Council meeting.