Understanding The Fairfax County School Board, 2011-2012

Fairfax County Public Schools are run by the Superintendent of the school, Jack Dale, who provides overall leadership and direction to the school division. The elected School Board sets County School policy.

There are 12 members of the Fairfax County School Board, each of whom is elected for a four year term. Nine of these members represent specific districts and three are at-large members. The members receive pay ($20,000 annually with an extra $2,000 for the chairman). There is a non-voting Student Board Member who serves for a one-year term. This student is selected at the February meeting of the county-wide Student Advisory Council.

The current members of the board are (listed by district):

• At Large, James Raney
• At Large, Tina Hone
• Vice Chairman and At Large, Ilryong Moon
• Braddock District, Tessie Wilson
• Chairman and Dranesville District, Jane Strauss
• Hunter Mill District, Stuart Gibson
• Lee District, Brad Center
• Mason District, Sandra Evans
• Mount Vernon District, Dan Storck
• Providence District, Patty Reed
• Springfield District, Elizabeth Bradsher
• Sully District, Kathy Smith

2011 is an election year for the Fairfax County School board, with the next election taking place in 2015.

The purpose of the Board is to set general school policy, within the framework of Virginia Board of Education regulations, and to establish guidelines that will ensure the proper administration of Fairfax County Public Schools.

Recent example of discussions that have taken part at school board meetings include, but are not limited to: school boundary issues, ending the honors program, modifying school start times, modifying the discipline policy & changing the grading policy.

If you have any issues or concerns about school policy in Fairfax County, information about how to contact your school board member can be found on the website under, School Board Member Profiles and Contact Information