Fairfax County is, without question, one of the wealthiest districts in America. Whether one is looking at the salary of an average household or the budget of the school district, which, per-pupil is over $7,000 higher than the national average, there are few areas, financially, where Fairfax does not place high. In comparison, the third-largest school district in the U.S., Chicago Public Schools, spends almost $2,000 less per-pupil than FCPS, despite having three times as many students, according to the US National Census. With such a large budget, what does FCPS funding go towards?
“They [FCPS] don’t specifically provide funding to the school […] what they do cover is the utilities, the lights […] things like that,” John Kenny, Director of Student Services, said, adding that transportation of teams and stipends coaches receive are also covered by FCPS.
Everything else, he continues, is self-funded by entry fees to games and the JMHS Athletic Boosters Club, a non-profit composed of parents and coaches. Together, he says, all programs “have what they need” to compete. However, he adds that clubs, such as the dance team or robotics club, are self-funded, and receive no funding from the athletics department, but are overseen by it.
This self-fundraising by clubs can occasionally lead to problems, however.
“I’m upset because they [the coaches] canceled our overnight [a few months ago],” a member of Winter Guard who wished to remain anonymous said. “And it’s just annoying because we don’t really know where the money is supposed to go.”
The overnight trip in question, which was attached to a Winter Guard International competition, was the focus of a fundraising push by the Guard with the fund raised money explicitly meant to go towards the funding of the overnight. When the coaches decided to not go to the competition, however, the overnight was also canceled. Instead of being refunded, the member said, parents were told the money would be used to purchase new equipment, such as rifles or swords. Instead, the funds were redistributed into the general Marching Band fund for use at a later time by the program.
Because Winter Guard is categorized as a club by the Virginia High School League (VHSL), they receive no funding from the school or county, and are entirely self-funded, with contributions from the JMHS Band Boosters Organization.
“I was definitely really upset,” Monica Wong (‘26), daughter of the Band Booster Organization’s treasurer and member of the Winter Guard said. When Wong first found out about the cancellation, she thought her coaches would simply move the overnight to the day of their championships. When the coaches decided not to do any overnights, however, her position on the matter shifted.
“It’s really important to have an overnight because there are different members of the guard each season, and for some people, you might only have one chance to room with them, and our chance to do that was taken away,” Wong said. “I think it was unfair of the coaches to decide not to do an overnight, especially because they didn’t consult with us about it, they just took it away.”