Evening star., 1951-03-17
Fairfax Schools
Ask S. Million in
Record Budget
Sum Is Greater Than
Entire County Fund
For Current Year
By Mary Lou Werner

The Fairfax County School
Board today proposed a 1852
budget of $4,919,245, nearly double
that of the current year and
greater than the entire operating
budget of the county for 1851.
A school tax levy of $2.56 per
500 of assessed valuation is asked
to finance the record proposal.
School officials are forwarding
their request to the Board of Su-
pervisorS for inclusion in the
county's 1872 budget on which
a public hearing will be held next
month and which will take effect
July /.
New Revenue Actually Higher.
The school budget for the cur
rent fiscal year is $2,614,951 and
the total county budget for this
year is slightly over $3.4 million.
Although the proposed new
school levy is slightly below that
of the current year, tax revenue
for school purposes actually would
be higher. This is because of q
recently completed county reas-
SesSment which raised valuations
from nearly $64 million sto over
$123 million.
The proposed new school levy is
expected to raise $2,842,071, while
the old rate was budgeJed to
raise only S1.525, ,946 fer the cur
rent fiscal year. State grants
and other miscellaneous sources
of income account for the remain
der of the school revenues.
AS required by law, the school
budget is prepared in two major
sections: Operating fund, and
capital outlay and debt service.
The total proposed operating
budget for 1872 is $3,387,166.
The current years figure is ST.
320,890. Of the total proposed
school tax rate. S2.05 would be
required for the operating budget.
. Institutional Costs Higher.
Biggest increase in operations is
a $681 900 raise in instructional
costs. This principally is result
of a higher teacher salary scale
and the addition of some new
teachers. The new proposed
teacher salary scale is $4,000 to-
$1,000, while the current scale is
$4,000 to $4,000. Altogether, in
struction costs account for $780,
720 of the total proposed budget.
Other items that account for
increases in the operating budget,
are $4,000 additional for admin
istration, $4,000 for additional in
structional costs such as supplies,
and $4,000 additional for trans
portation.
Capital outlay and debt service
expenditures in the proposed bud
get amount to $1,532.077, and the
tax levy required for that purpose
is 81 cents. This portion of the
current years budget is 1921 ,455.
The school board pointed out,
however, that more money will be
Ispent in the current year than
twas budgeted.
State Fund Will Help.
The big increase in this portion
of the new budget is principally
because of S312,543 included for
new buildings and additions,
$4,000 for architects fees,
S1o5,00O interest on bonds and
$50,000 to buy school sites.
School officials said an $500, 900
grant from Gov. Battles school
construction fund will take care
of the amount included in the
capital budget for new buildings
and additions.
At first, School Board members
considered a budget of over SIS mil
lion that would have required a
$3.50 school tax levy. This bigger
budget included an additional
$951,0 900 for school construction.
A $10.5 million bond issue ap-I
proved by the voters last May for
school construction still is tied
up in litigation.
Some Items Eliminated.
The extra money for school con-
struction and several other items
were cut out by School Board
members, however, after they con-
ferred with the Board of Super
visors yesterday. Responsibility
for fixing the total county tax
rate rests with the supervisors.
They pointed out that the current
county tax rate for schools and
everything else is only $3.19 on
the old assessment, and a $3.50
rate on the new assessment would
result in tripled tax bills for some
county residents.
The supervisors still have the
power to make a further reduc-
ton in the total school budget.
Any cut they make may be re-
stored if the school budget is ap-
proved in a referendum called by