Fairfax County School Board’s Bloated Staff
Stephanie Lundquist-Arora is a contributor for IW Features, The Federalist and the Washington Examiner, a mother in Fairfax County, Virginia, an author and the Fairfax chapter leader of the Independent Women’s Network. Her articles have also appeared in National Review, Fox News Digital, The Daily Signal and Townhall. Originally appeared on WMAL.
In 2025, as Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) leaders eliminated 275 teaching positions, school board members voted in a closed meeting to add “staff directors” to the payroll in addition to their “staff assistants.”
Given that school board members are supported by district administrative staff, a total of 10 school board–specific staff members likely would be sufficient to assist the 12 part-time board members in carrying out their duties. Instead, the school board employs 28 other support staff. Including board members’ earnings, total annual expenditures for board-related salaries—excluding benefits—amount to $3.7 million.
School Board Members and Staff (2025-2026)
| Name | Position | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Anderson, Sandra B | School Board Chair | $49,999 |
| Lady, Robyn | School Board Vice Chair | $47,999 |
| Anderson, Ricardy J | School Board Member | $47,999 |
| McElveen, Ryan L | School Board Member | $47,999 |
| Moon, Ilryong | School Board Member | $47,999 |
| McDaniel, Robert K | School Board Member | $47,999 |
| St John-Cunning, Marcia | School Board Member | $47,999 |
| Frisch, Karl V | School Board Member | $47,999 |
| Meren, Melanie K | School Board Member | $47,999 |
| Dixit, Seema | School Board Member | $47,999 |
| Dunne, Mateo O | School Board Member | $47,999 |
| Braddock District TBD | School Board Member | $47,999 |
| Brown, Nelda N | School Board Staff Aide | $133,063 |
| Cuda, Gilman P | School Board Staff Assistant | $79,647 |
| Azar, Tamara C | School Board Staff Assistant | $106,512 |
| Fischer, Liam S | School Board Staff Assistant | $76,954 |
| Chavez, Ana C | School Board Staff Assistant | $90,956 |
| Rubin, Eric D | School Board Staff Assistant | $79,647 |
| Holmes, Maria Esperanza | School Board Staff Assistant | $82,435 |
| Bennett, Caitlin E | School Board Staff Assistant | $85,320 |
| Goodell, Sarah L | School Board Staff Assistant | $106,512 |
| Setlow, Christina K | Clerk to the School Board | $152,291 |
| Ko, Yee Chung | Auditor General | $257,593 |
| Brown, Janet M | Deputy Clerk to the School Board | $96,846 |
| Jackson, Kevin A Jr. | Deputy Clerk to the School Board | $96,846 |
| Sheppard, Tiffany L | Administrative Assistant I | $87,126 |
| Day, Jeremy | Support Tech 1 | $68,214 |
| Wunderlin, Desiree | Support Tech 2 | $76,069 |
| Gipko, Mary E | Director, District Board Operations | $127,612 |
| Park, Sarah K | Director, District Board Operations | $127,612 |
| Flis, Barbara K | Director, District Board Operations | $127,612 |
| Stokes, Laura E | Director, District Board Operations | $127,612 |
| Srinagesh, Divya | Director, District Board Operations | $127,612 |
| Biliter, Wendy M | Director, District Board Operations | $127,612 |
| O’Connor, Jessica N | Director, District Board Operations | $127,612 |
| Harrer, Jacob H | Director, District Board Operations | $127,612 |
| Sedgwick, Stephanie | Director, District Board Operations | $127,612 |
| Sheridan, Stephanie R | Director, District Board Operations | $127,612 |
| Coffey, Cristy | Senior Executive Admin. Asst. | $122,788 |
| TOTAL | $3,652,927 |
Source: FOIA Request
In addition to school board staff, FCPS employs 1,532 additional district administrators (totaling 1,572 central administrative staff members). The total fiscal year 2026 expenditure for central staff salaries is $187 million. The scale of support staff dedicated to part-time school board members and central administration more broadly is symptomatic of corruption and poor leadership within the district.
Saundra Davis, an independent candidate running for the open school board seat in Fairfax County’s Braddock District, believes that FCPS leadership needs to refocus on its main mission—education. She said, “Fairfax County School Board members and their staff should be focused on serving students and schools.”
It seems that some of these staff members, however, are not simply focused on their performing their job duties. Complaints have alleged that Stephanie Sedgwick, Gille Coda, Laura Stokes, and Liam Fischer, (staff members for Rachna Sizemore Heizer and Kyle McDaniel) were working on Heizer’s campaign for the Board of Supervisors during work hours. Davis said, “It’s critical that public resources are used efficiently and focused on serving students and schools, not political campaigns during school hours.”
Taken together, these decisions reveal a troubling misalignment of priorities within FCPS leadership. At a time when classrooms are absorbing the impact of eliminated teaching positions and increasing student needs, the school board has expanded its own staffing footprint far beyond what is reasonably required for part-time governance. The scale and cost of board-dedicated personnel—layered on top of an already expansive central administration—undermines public trust and raises serious questions about fiscal stewardship, transparency, and accountability.
Fairfax County parents and taxpayers deserve a school system that puts students first, not one that appears to prioritize political ambition and bureaucratic self-expansion over educational outcomes. Restoring confidence will require more than rhetoric; it will require a renewed commitment to ethical governance, responsible budgeting, and a clear focus on the core mission of public education. Without meaningful reform, FCPS risks continuing down a path where resources flow upward to administrators and political staffers, while students and teachers are left to do more with less.
