As Virginia’s largest public school district continues to decline academically, Fairfax County Public Schools’ environmental and sustainability program has exploded in scale since 2020, transforming from a small initiative into a heavily-staffed central operation. Meanwhile, despite a $197 million increase from the fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget, Fairfax County’s school board members voted last month toreduce school reserve staffing by $8.8 million, eliminating 70 positions in FY2027. Parents, teachers, and school administrators are increasingly concerned about the reduction in school reserve staffing and the general shift of resources from schools to central administration under Superintendent Michelle Reid’s leadership. Fairfax Schools, which was once lauded as one of the highest performing districts in the country, has declined precipitously in recent years. As per-pupil expenditures have increased from about $15,000 in 2020 to $24,000 in 2026, academic outcomes are in steady decline. Since 2019, for example, the district’s average SAT score has decreased by 35 points, from 1218 to 1183.   The Standards of Learning tests, Virginia’s standardized tests administered across multiple grade levels, also show that jaw-dropping numbers of students are not proficient in reading, writing, math, science, and history. About a quarter of the district’s students are not proficient at grade-level in reading, math, and science. The results in writing and history are even more abysmal. Despite a strategic plan that puts “equity” at the center, the district’s most vulnerable students are failing standardized tests at even more alarming rates, as noted in the table below. Failure Rate of FCPS SOLs 2024-2025 SubjectOverallEnglish language learnersEconomically disadvantagedEnglish Reading21%69%42%English Writing84%98%95%Math22%56%41%Science25%68%46%History58%76%70%Source: https://schoolquality.virginia.gov/divisions/fairfax-county-public-schools#desktopTabs-2 (26.8% of FCPS students were English language learners and 41.1% were economically disadvantaged in 2024-2025.) Substantial budget increases—from $2.9 billion in FY2019 to $4.1 billion in FY2027—should mean that district officials allocate increased resources to improving students’ declining academic performance. But the budget suggests that is not the priority. There are many areas in central administration’s bloated budget that school board members could have cut to avoid reducing school reserve staff this year or eliminating 275 teaching positions last year. In FY2026, for example, the district spent $272 million on non-school-based administrators’ salaries. Reid, the chief “equity” monger, earns an annual salary of $445,353, and her chief of staff, Marty Smith, earns $306,154. Their egregiously high salaries highlight yet another case of “equity for thee, but not for me.” Perhaps equally disconcerting—as the district eliminates teaching positions, increases class sizes, and cuts school staffing reserves—Fairfax County Public Schools’ leadership has supercharged its green initiatives into a rapidly expanding administrative ecosystem spanning multiple departments and layers of staffing. Note in the table below, for example, that relevant staff associated with these initiatives had combined salaries of $2.2 million in FY2025. FCPS Energy / Get2Green / Sustainability Salary Table (FY2025) NamePositionAnnual SalaryJohn LordSenior Manager II, Energy Manager$163,128Brownson, Chrissy CSenior Manager I, Get2Green Instruction$159,669Kathyrn SalernoSenior Manager I, Zero Waste Manager$149,731Cetinkaya, Candice CEducational Specialist, Get2Green$144,427Cliff PahlavaninejadSenior Manager, Sustainability$138,210Taylor, KarenGet2Green Support Specialist$120,912Hai VoEnergy Education Specialist$117,657Olivia StoutEnergy Education Specialist$115,189Rene EcheverriaEnergy Education Specialist$109,793Alison CulhaneSenior Manager, Get2Green$102,782Paul ScottAssistant Director, Energy & Environmental Sustainability$102,735Debra MaesEnergy Education Specialist$99,938Henry MillerEnergy Education Specialist$99,938Cynthia HamrickEnergy Education Specialist$98,876Claudia FoxEnergy Education Specialist$95,291John ArnoldEnergy Education Specialist$92,238Alex Arriola SanchezEnergy Education Specialist$92,026Donna VolkmannSenior Manager, Get2Green$87,604Paula RomeroEnergy Education Specialist$85,973Total $2,176,117Source: https://govsalaries.com/salaries/VA/fairfax-county-public-schools This growing bureaucratic monstrosity began in 2008, with School Board Policy 8542, which formally established environmental stewardship as a systemwide responsibility embedded in facilities management. A year later, the district launched Get2Green as the student-facing environmental stewardship program. In 2019, Fairfax County’s leaders formed the Joint Environmental Task Force, which effectively precipitated bureaucratic expansion for so-called “green initiatives.” With its final report, drafted in 2020, the task force explicitly recommended coordinated “climate action” across energy, waste, transportation, facilities, and workforce development. In FY 2023, an additional $1.4 million and six positions were included to address Phase I recommendations of the Joint Environmental Task Force. The next year, Fairfax Schools provided salary supplements for Get2Green leaders at all of the district’s 200 schools. By 2024, and with significant expense, School Board Policy 8542 and the Joint Environmental Task Force had structured the district’s environmental efforts into three broad categories distributed across multiple departments: (1) energy management, (2) environmental sustainability and climate initiatives, and (3) green building and capital program coordination. The district has undergone a clear structural shift over the past decade: rising expenditures and expanding central administration have not translated into improved academic outcomes. Despite significant increases in per-pupil spending, student performance is in decline, with large shares of students failing to meet proficiency standards in core subjects. At the same time, the district has built out a growing administrative framework for environmental and sustainability initiatives. What began as a relatively modest program has, since 2020, evolved into a multidepartment structure spanning energy management, facilities operations, transportation planning, and instructional programming. Increasing class sizes and cutting teaching positions while failing to eliminate programs that do not support academic achievement is a symptom of weak and obscenely irresponsible leadership. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of the Daily Signal.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A new poll shows stunningly low job approval numbers for President Donald Trump in the critical swing state of Michigan but suggests Republican Mike Rogers has a shot at winning the state’s Senate race in November. “This poll reflects a lot of national angst directed at Republicans, to be sure,” Steve Cortes, founder and president of the League of American Workers, the organization for which the poll was conducted, told the Daily Signal.  “But all politics is local, and the poll also shows that Mike Rogers is popular in Michigan and has a terrific chance to flip a U.S. Senate seat from Democrat to Republican,” he added. The poll shows Trump receiving 36% job approval from the state that has elected him twice. Fifty-eight percent of respondents disapprove of Trump’s performance. The online poll of 1,456 voters, carried out by TechnoMetrica (TIPP) from May 20 to 23, has a 2.7% margin of error. The pollster combines approval and disapproval numbers, often arriving at negative numbers for Trump. For example, the poll found Trump is struggling with key voting blocs that backed him in 2024, with -10% job approval among men, -13% among whites, and -3% among white men. Trump also has -43% job approval among Gen Z voters and -42% among independents. A total of 40% of respondents approved of American military action against Iran, with 52% in opposition. Respondents were also asked if they are “more concerned about prices staying high because of the war with Iran,” or if they “believe those higher prices are a necessary cost to help keep America safe.” A mere 18% said the higher prices are a necessary cost, 55% said they were more concerned about prices staying high, and 22% said “both equally.” In response to the numbers, White House spokesman Kush Desai told the Daily Signal, “While the president has been clear about short-term disruptions as a result of Operation Epic Fury, the administration remains focused on implementing the proven Trump agenda of tax cuts, deregulation, and energy abundance to keep America on a solid economic trajectory.” Desai added, “Once the Iranian terror threat is neutralized and traffic in the Strait of Hormuz normalizes, Americans will again see gas prices plummet, real wages grow, inflation cool, and trillions in investments pour in.” Trump’s low marks are roughly in line with the 33% of Michigan respondents who approve of how the Republican Party is handling its job. About 55% disapprove. The Democratic Party also has a low approval rating, although fewer voters disapprove of it. Thirty-three percent of voters approve of the Democratic Party in the survey, and 51% disapprove. Another relatively promising sign for Democrats is that 46% of respondents say they would vote for the Democrat candidate if “the election for the U.S. House of Representatives in [their] district were held today,” compared to 38% who would vote Republican. A Tight Senate Race The survey is not completely positive for Democrats, as the Republican candidate for Senate, Rogers, is within striking distance of the three Democrats he could face in November. Rogers, who narrowly lost to now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., in 2024, is carrying Trump’s endorsement as he seeks to flip the seat of retiring Democrat Sen. Gary Peters. The poll suggests U.S. Rep Haley Stevens is the strongest Democrat, polling with 45% support against Rogers’ 38% in a hypothetical matchup. Six percent supported “someone else,” whereas 10% were “unsure.” State Sen. Mallory McMorrow holds a slimmer lead than Stevens in a matchup with Rogers, with 42% support against his 39%. Six percent again expressed a preference for someone else, and 13% were unsure. The weakest polling Democrat of all is former health official Abdul El-Sayed, who is tied with Rogers at 40% support, with 7% choosing someone else and 13% unsure. Rogers has a 33% favorable and 35% unfavorable rating in the survey. His favorability rating is competitive with those of El-Sayed (29% favorable and 28% favorable), McMorrow (26% favorable and 21% unfavorable), and Stevens (34% favorable and 27% unfavorable). Joetta Appiah, a spokesperson for Stevens’ campaign, responded to the polling numbers in a statement, telling the Daily Signal, “This poll reinforces what poll after poll has consistently shown: Haley Stevens is the strongest Democrat in the race and best positioned to defeat Mike Rogers in November.” She added, “Haley continues to build the broad coalition needed to win statewide, including strong support from independent and Black voters. Michigan Democrats are focused on winning this seat, and the data continues to show Haley is in the strongest position to get that done.” Roxie Richner, a communications director for El-Sayed’s campaign, told the Daily Signal in a statement, “When we began this primary, Abdul was polling in third place. Since, we’ve built a dominant campaign, going to nearly 100 cities and 375 public events, engaging voters through social and traditional media, and building an unstoppable ground game—all driven by a candidate who has [taken] the time to listen and does not pull his punches against a bought off establishment of which Mike Rogers is a mascot. And now Abdul is surging. It turns out that campaigns matter. And when this one is done in November, Abdul will have dominated Rogers by seven points.” Jackson Boaz, a spokesman for McMorrow, also responded to the polling, telling The Daily Signal in a statement, “The same day the Michigan GOP chair said they do not want to run against Mallory in the general election, a shady MAGA group run by a top Trump official released a poll trying to wish that into reality.” He continued, “Mallory is laser focused on meeting Michiganders where that are—and every poll in this race has shown that she is the only candidate who can win the primary, unite the party, and defeat Mike Rogers in November.” Sour on Muslim Immigration Despite the generally bleak picture for Republicans in the short term, the survey reveals the extent to which a negative view of mass migration has become part of the political mainstream. The Detroit area is home to large Muslim and Middle Eastern immigrant communities. “Americans increasingly realize that mass migration has not served our country well, especially not from the Third World,” Cortes concludes from the survey’s results. According to the polling, a mere 19% of Michiganders say mass migration, particularly from poorer countries, has been “good for Michigan,” compared to 35% who say it has been “bad for Michigan.” Thirty percent said the mass migration from poorer countries has “not made much difference,” and 16% were not sure. The poll also shows widespread opposition to further Muslim immigration into Michigan. A whopping 25% of respondents said Michigan has accepted “far too many” Muslim immigrants, and 12% said the state has accepted “somewhat too many.” Thirty percent said the number is “about right.” A total of only 6% said Michigan had accepted too few Muslim immigrants. Michiganders’ opinions on Christian immigrants are more positive, although few respondents said the state should accept more. Seven percent of respondents said Michigan has accepted far too many Chirstian immigrants. A 39% plurality said the amount was about right. A combined 13% said Michigan had accepted too few, and 34% said they were not sure. Cortes views these numbers as a positive development. “Muslim mass migration presents particular challenges, and more Americans are willing to say so. The vibe has shifted and we don’t whisper any longer,” he said. Cortes continued, “A large Muslim inflow to America is a threat to our culture and our way of life, and patriotic Michigan voters do not want to follow Europe’s dismal example of civilizational erasure.” The Daily Signal reached out to the campaigns mentioned in this article for comment. Related Posts‘BIG SAVING’: Trump Says Slashing This Regulation Will Lower Grocery PricesPresident Donald Trump said every American family will experience a “big saving” in their grocery bills after he rolled back two Biden-era regulations on refrigerants. With the rollback, Trump said he made more refrigerants available for supermarkets and other businesses, which he says will save $900 million. The Daily Signal asked the president on Thursday how…El-Sayed Has ‘Struggles’ With the Question of Whether Israel Should Be a Jewish StateAbdul El‑Sayed, a Democrat candidate for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, says he has a tough time deciding whether Israel should be a Jewish state. The candidate’s remarks come as anti‑Israel activists and state sponsors of terrorism, such as Hamas and Iran, have repeatedly waged violence against the state of Israel for being a Jewish…New Poll Reveals Surprising Top Democrat Presidential CandidatesWith potential Democrat candidates already laying the groundwork for 2028, a new poll claims to identify the party’s front-runners for a comeback bid. A May 24-25 survey from Emerson College Polling shows former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg leading the prospective race with 18% support to be the party’s nominee from likely Democrat primary voters.  Closely…

It’s only been a few months into Abigail Spanberger’s administration, and already I’m growing weary of this. Here we are again in a scenario too similar to issues that dogged Gov. Glenn Youngkin during the previous four years. On several occasions, as is his right and responsibility as governor, Youngkin appointed people to empty seats on various boards of universities, including the University of Virginia, George Mason University and Virginia Military Institute. Each time, the Virginia Senate threw a fit, saying that it had rejected all 14 of Youngkin’s board picks in a June committee vote. In July, Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Jonathan D. Frieden ordered the removal of eight of Youngkin’s appointees, ruling that the legislature’s authority to confirm or reject gubernatorial appointees should be protected. Now, here we are again, as Spanberger, without so much as an explanation, creates her own opening on the Board of Visitors at Virginia Tech by showing the rector, John G. Rocovich Jr., the door. Her reason? An unspecified violation of the Code of Conduct. On top of that, she appoints Edward H. Baine, the president of Dominion Energy Virginia, to serve as rector of Virginia Tech for the next year. Hue and cry from the Virginia General Assembly? Hardly. If you listen closely, you can hear the crickets in the background. No court filings. No subpoenas. No insistence on stays and court-ordered blockages of the appointment, as happened under Youngkin. Certainly, it is the governor’s purview to fill empty seats on these boards, with the consent of the General Assembly, as members made abundantly clear during the Youngkin years. But when she creates a vacancy without even so much as an explanation, they certainly owe it to their voters to ask why—unless it was only because of the governor’s political party affiliation. The only comment at this point from the General Assembly comes from Del. Terry Kilgore, who issued this statement: “The Governor owes the Virginia Tech community—and all Virginians—an explanation for this decision. What exactly did John Rocovich do?” Senate Democratic Majority Leader Scott Surovell, of Fairfax County, even praised the move Thursday, posting to social media: “I am pleased the governor is going to continue to resolve the Youngkin Board of Visitors hangover and their politicization of our universities.” Rocovich has stated that Spanberger first wrote a letter demanding his resignation, which he called “deeply offensive, legally unsupported, and wholly inconsistent with the governor’s own publicly stated principles regarding the proper relationship between the executive branch and the governance of Virginia’s public universities.” The hypocrisy is not lost on Rocovich, who added in his official statement: “Governor Spanberger cannot simultaneously condemn political interference in university governance as an ‘aberration’ and then, within months of taking office, direct her secretary to strong-arm a sitting rector into vacating a position he holds by lawful appointment,” Rocovich wrote. “That is not reform—that is the same conduct she denounced, merely with a different political beneficiary.” But wait, there’s more! We are just learning that the political intrigue deepens as Rockovich turns out to be Virginia 6th district congressman Ben Cline’s father-in-law! No one is sure quite how that fits into Spamberger’s depiction of “violating a code of conduct,” but then again nothing has yet. For another juicy subplot, we already know that there are deep divides within Virginia’s Democratic Party. The governor’s rhetorical shrug in response to the raid on Sen. Louise Lucas’ office in Portsmouth has made some of these schisms more visible. But one wonders: If that’s the case, wouldn’t we see some of the same righteous indignation over Spanberger’s action—actions that make anything Youngkin did regarding the boards of these universities pale by comparison? Whether it’s politically adept or not, firing someone from a position of eminence at one of Virginia’s top universities without so much as an explanation is one thing. But replacing him with the president of the commonwealth’s largest electric utility would certainly be worthy of at least a “whoop.” The governor may not feel we are owed an explanation about the dismissal, but why the apparent patronage to the president of Dominion Energy? I’m hoping that Virginia Democrats remember the things they said regarding Gov. Youngkin’s management of these boards at the commonwealth’s universities and do what they claimed they were constitutionally bound to do: demand answers before any of these proceedings can go forward. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of the Daily Signal.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says the United States and China agreed in Beijing to keep discussing if the two countries should team to set guardrails on AI.  ”You wanna be able to set guardrails,” Hegseth told The Daily Signal Saturday evening. “Given the innovation capabilities of the United States of America, we also wanna maintain an advantage, and ensure that we can utilize that advantage responsibly as well.” “It’s kind of emblematic of that competing tension,” he said. Q: Do the US and China need to set a mutually agreed upon guardrail on AI? Did you see any progress toward that in Beijing?@SecWar: "I think the agreement was that we should keep talking about it…""You wanna be able to set guardrails, but given the innovation capabilities… pic.twitter.com/qWB46gdYy4— Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell (@TheElizMitchell) May 31, 2026 Hegseth spoke to the press at the United States Embassy in Singapore at the end of his trip to the Shangri-La Dialogue conference, where he met with various Indo-Pacific leaders. Earlier this month, the secretary of war had joined President Donald Trump on his trip to Beijing, where he said he listened to hours of conversations about U.S.-China relations. Trump and President Xi Jinping discussed guardrails on AI and how to prevent bad actors from exploiting the most powerful AI models, such as Anthropic’s Mythos, which has exposed major software security vulnerabilities. Hegseth said the two countries agreed to continue talking as technology develops. “Guardrail conversations are productive between two strong countries,” Hegseth said, “but it’s also our job to run the fastest, and certainly at the War Department, we’re trying to do everything we can to maintain that.”

Just as the deranged Roman emperors—Caligula, Nero, and Commodus—turned the empire’s treasury and laws into weapons against their own people, Gov. Gavin Newsom now seeks to seize 100% of any federal compensation awarded to Californians harmed by government weaponization. Insulated by absolute power, these rulers squandered vast resources on vendettas, bizarre decrees, and self-glorification while their subjects suffered. Caligula’s paranoid confiscations, Nero’s indifferent ruin, and Commodus’s delusional grandeur were not mere failures—they were deliberate punishments inflicted to spite rivals and reality itself.  Newsom follows the same mad logic. On May 27, 2026, Newsom announced California will impose a 100% state tax on any resident receiving funds from the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund. He branded it a “January 6 slush fund” and ordered every penny seized by the state.  Created from a settlement in Trump’s IRS lawsuit over leaked tax returns, the fund compensates victims of genuine political lawfare—not just January 6 defendants, but parents targeted at school boards, businesses crushed by overregulation, and ordinary citizens caught in federal crosshairs. California will literally confiscate 100% of restitution paid to its own residents for real political persecution. This is not governance. It is raw, spiteful authoritarianism—Nero fiddling while California burns. Concrete justice for victims is sacrificed on the altar of partisan mania while everyday Californians endure exploding costs, failing services, and unchecked decline. California’s Democrat leaders have abandoned any standard of right, wise, or beneficial. They govern by one deranged metric alone: If Donald Trump supports it, oppose it at all costs. Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is now official state policy. Sacramento operates as a permanent resistance machine that prioritizes symbolic defiance over practical fixes. Newsom’s crazed plan to confiscate restitution may be the most brazen display of his madness yet—but it’s only the latest. When the Trump administration tried to claw back unspent federal funds, Newsom cried “illegal political retribution”—then doubled down on more state spending for his train to nowhere.  Sold to voters in 2008 as a $33 billion system ready by 2020, California’s high-speed rail has devoured $15 billion over 18 years with zero miles of operational track. Projected costs have ballooned to $126–$231 billion while the scaled-back Central Valley segment crawls forward amid lawsuits, delays, and bureaucracy.  Romans built the Colosseum in just 8–10 years. California’s Mad King can only produce excuses, concrete tombs, and endless delays that keep slipping into the 2030s or 2040s. The same derangement drives energy policy. The Trump administration invoked the Defense Production Act to restart the idle Sable Offshore pipeline near Santa Barbara and expand domestic leasing. Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta responded with immediate lawsuits and declarations that the projects were “dead on arrival”—even as gas prices punish working families, refineries close, imported energy dominates, and Kern County fields sit idle. Ideology and rabid opposition to Trump overrides affordable domestic production. Newsom doubles down on the same madness with immigration. His sanctuary laws block local police from helping ICE deport criminal aliens. As fentanyl deaths surge and emergency rooms overflow, he sues Trump and shields cities to protect repeat offenders, gang members, and cartel operatives. Public safety has been sacrificed on the altar of open-border ideology and Trump Derangement Syndrome. California’s legal jihad never ends. Former AG Xavier Becerra brags about filing over 120 lawsuits against Trump—wasting millions while homelessness spending explodes into the tens of billions with 180,000 people still sleeping on sidewalks. Meanwhile, Newsom burns nearly $40 million in taxpayer funds on self-promotion: New York PR contracts and special “legacy” funds dedicated to honoring himself. While Newsom declares war on restitution for actual victims of government persecution, Democrats are simultaneously chasing massive reparations for Black Californians.  Newsom signed legislation creating the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery, issued an official state apology, and allowed task forces to float proposals costing hundreds of billions. California was never a slave state, and no living Black Californian endured chattel slavery on its soil. Yet phantom historical grievances get new bureaucracies and apologies—while real victims of recent lawfare are taxed into oblivion. Coastal elites like Newsom, shielded by their wealth and gated communities, ram through green mandates, soft-on-crime policies, and reparations theater. They treat federalism as a one-way veto against Trump while demanding billions in federal cash with no strings attached.  Their endless talk of “equity” rings utterly hollow against dirty streets, boarded-up stores, sky-high housing costs, and crumbling infrastructure. Everyday Californians pay the price: punishing gas prices, unsafe neighborhoods, and disappearing opportunity. Billions are flushed into failed programs and endless political fights that aren’t even Sacramento’s business. Like Caligula, Nero, and Commodus before him, Gavin Newsom has declared war—not on California’s problems, but on his own citizens and on reality itself. His 100% tax on victim compensation is the logical climax of a Mad King consumed by spite, vanity, and obsessive hatred. California still possesses vast resources: talent, fertile farms, world-class ports, and unmatched innovation. Its steep decline is not destiny—it is a deliberate choice made by a Mad King and his enablers. History’s verdict is clear: Mad kings eventually fall, dragging their realms into ruin, exodus, and exhaustion. California cannot afford to wait for that final chapter. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of the Daily Signal.