Asra Nomani | May 11, 2025
(Fairfax County Times) — As local teachers advocated for better pay, Fairfax County school board leaders introduced a surprise motion in a secret, closed session earlier this year. Following heated debate, a majority of the board voted in a split decision to create new, high-paying “director” staff positions for each of the board’s 12 members, doling out about $121,535 for roles that require only a bachelor’s degree.
The newly created positions, classified as “office personnel/clerical” in a LinkedIn posting, are for 260-day full-year contracts and exceed the average salaries of teachers with master’s degrees in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). In total, if all of the board members added the new role to their staffs, the payroll expenses would be $1.5 million.
In addition, sources say, the school board has voted to renovate and expand its offices at school district headquarters off Gatehouse Road in Falls Church.
Eleven of the 12 school board members didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The board’s expensive decision raises questions about transparency, oversight, and political partisanship in a school district that has been plagued with allegations of coverups on issues from a local high school football recruiting scandal to redistricting. As of May 1, at least five school board members had filled the director roles, with some appointing individuals involved in political election campaign work.
In several cases, the directors were promoted from existing staff aide roles, resulting in significant pay increases. For instance, public records show that one staffer’s salary increased from $72,323 to $121,535—a jump of roughly 68%.
There are five confirmed appointments of directors and one confirmed advertisement:
Board chair Karl Frisch promoted his staff aide, Ellen Gipko, to director. According to her LinkedIn profile, Gipko joined Frisch’s office in February 2024 after working as an operations manager in Tysons. Her duties included social media management, bookkeeping, and executive assistance.
Robyn Lady promoted Wendy Biliter, her staff aide, as her new district director. Biliter was previously a staff aide for former board member Elaine Tholen. She described her as a “trained pediatrician” who had worked at Churchill Road Elementary School and in “various roles” in the school board office. According to public records, she earned $72,323 as a staff aide in 2023.
Seema Dixit posted a job listing on LinkedIn around April 7 for a director who “performs the full range of professional duties and oversees administrative functions.” The job listing was only open for about two weeks until April 23, and by May 1, job applicants saw this message: “No longer accepting job applications.”
Kyle McDaniel, a board member currently facing a civil lawsuit in Loudoun County for alleged embezzlement, hired Laura Stokes, a Democratic campaign strategist, as his district director. Stokes previously managed the campaigns of Fairfax Mayor Catherine Read and Virginia State Senator Saddam Salim. Her LinkedIn profile emphasizes experience in “political consulting & government.” McDaniel also employs Liam Fischer as a staff assistant. In the 2025 election cycle, Stokes has donated $4,504 to all Democratic politicians and organizations, according to state election records, including $1,100 to school board member Dixit and a symbolic $13 to Frisch.
Ilryong Moon elevated Sarah Park, a former journalist, to director of district board operations in April. He lists Tamara Azar as a staff assistant.
Rachna Sizemore Heizer appointed Stephanie Sedgwick, vice chair of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee and former chief of staff to Delegate Dan Helmer, as her district director. Sedgwick announced her hiring on LinkedIn in mid-April and still lists active duties with the Fairfax County Democratic Committee, including “branding, messaging, weekly communication, short and long-term planning.” Before that, she was assistant finance director and district director for the “Helmer for Virginia” campaign. For many years, Sedgwick published recipes as a food editor and writer at the Washington Post. Sedgwick has donated $4,391 to all Democratic politicians, according to state election records, including $250 to Frisch, the school board chair.
It’s unclear what the remaining six school board members, Sandy Anderson, Ricardy Anderson, Ryan McElveen, Melanie Meren and Marcia St. John-Cunning are doing with the new position.
One school board member told the Fairfax County Times that he will not hire a director.
Mateo Dunne said, “I do not plan to hire a director.” Dunne said he hired a staff aide in January 2024 and a staff assistant in April 2024. “My team enables my office to meet the needs of my constituents and to advocate effectively for necessary changes to the FCPS budget and operations, so every child receives a world-class education with talented teachers and support staff in modern classrooms and facilities,” he said.
Dunne noted he has “advocated consistently for higher teacher pay.” Last month, he noted that he issued a joint statement with McElveen and Ricardy Anderson, “advocating for FCPS to limit the proposed 7% pay raise to teachers and support staff, who are paid below market.” Superintendent Michelle Reid has proposed that she and her C-suite executives, who make more than $200,000, also get the pay raises.
“Great teachers make great schools, so FCPS should focus on attracting and retaining talented educators and support staff,” said Dunne. “We are losing talented educators and support staff to surrounding jurisdictions, so our highest priorities should be (1) safety and security and (2) teacher pay.”