The FCPS annual school budget of $3 Billion is two-thirds the state operating budget of the entire state of Delaware.

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Our Mission

Our mission at Do Better FCPS is to hold Fairfax County Public School leadership and School Board members accountable for providing a quality education given its $3 Billion annual budget funded by Fairfax County taxpayers. We believe the FCPS parents, students, taxpayers, and community all deserve better. Do Better FCPS wants:

  1. Accountability

  2. Transparency

  3. Excellence in Leadership

  4. Focus on High Caliber Education

We do not believe we are currently getting any of the above to our satisfaction.

How we got here

Our mission was born from this Change.org survey started in March 2020 when Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. To date, more than 2,600 people have signed this petition.

The petition captured our collective disappointment at how FCPS handled the transition to distance learning. First, it became clear that there was no plan in place. Second, teachers were not given training or action items for two solid weeks. The first distance learning class took place a full month after in-person learning ended on March 13. The first day of online classes was a debacle. See our blog for a summary of news coverage which included not only the online harassment of students and teachers but the discovery that FCPS software had not been updated in nearly three years. The head if IT was fired. Many students did not see a teacher until a full six weeks after the shutdown.

An independent audit of the transition to online learning was ordered by Superintendent Brabrand. A law firm was hired. An “Superintendent's Technology Advisory Council” was formed. Parents were promised the results of the audit in “weeks.” No mention of the independent audit by Superintendent Brabrand has been made since this initial announcement via email on April 20, 2020.

Now, FCPS parents are struggling to make difficult decisions about back-to-school. Again, FCPS is failing to provide transparency into decision making and information is lacking. Communication is a mess; conflicting messages abound. Leadership is anything but comforting.

We deserve better.