(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) In one of the most notoriously woke school districts in the country, pushback from parents over an overly lax academic calendar has led school officials to retaliate by threatening to cancel religious holidays — including Christmas.
Fairfax County, Virginia, where Democrat-endorsed candidates occupy every seat of the 12-member school board, faced recent backlash from taxpaying residents annoyed that fewer than half the school weeks in the academic year had a full five days of instruction.
In addition to observing 30 official holidays, the 2025-26 calendar was dotted with school-planning, staff development and teacher workdays, as well as optional religious holidays.
“The current calendar disadvantages children from low-income households the absolute most,” parent Stephanie Lundquist–Arora told WJLA.
“What you see is that the low-income students are among the worst performers on the standardized tests, so it’s hurting them the most,” she added. “You’re taking away instruction time, and you’re completely interrupting their education.”
In response, school board members appeared to feign concern, announcing their intention to revisit the holiday calendar and find solutions that would placate all stakeholders.
“Parents are seeking help,” said school board member Melanie Meren.
“They want their kids in school for as many five-day school weeks as possible,” she added. “So, the changes I’m proposing … are going to provide a more stable, focused schedule for students and families’ lives.”
Meren was one of four board members to propose motions eliminating early-release days. But rather than focus on frivolous staff development, some of the proposals targeted patriotic federal holidays like Veterans Day and Columbus Day (known to Democrats as Indigenous People’s Day).
Alternatively, school officials proposed, on a recent survey, cutting out several of the religious holidays the district observes, including Diwali, Yom Kippir, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. But it seemed only willing to do so on condition that Christmas also become a school day.
🚨New: Fairfax County Public Schools is asking parents if they’re ok with eliminating Christmas in the school calendar, and other religious and cultural observances like Diwali, Eid al-Fitr, and Rosh Hashanah.
FCPS has been under pressure recently to incorporate more five day… https://t.co/G3gDnyVfpJ pic.twitter.com/OrsK2N11dX
— Nick Minock (@NickMinock) June 12, 2026
Because Christmas Day is also a federal holiday, it is possible that Dec. 25 would remain intact as a student holiday regardless, while any proposal to cut the religious holidays would eliminate an existing holiday for Dec. 24, Christmas Eve.
Some social-media users likewise pointed out that school systems already had effectively cut their observance of Christian holidays by broadly designating the yuletide season as “winter break” and then scheduling the customary “spring break” to coincide with Easter.
Christmas has already been eliminated they call it winter break…🫤 thank God my kids are out of the once great Northern Virginia public school system!
— Sister Mary Chardonnay (@cabocynde) June 12, 2026
Regardless, the school board’s attempt to play three-card monte with the holidays would seem to sidestep the underlying concern from Lundquist–Arora and other parents that FCPS is failing to exercise good stewardship of the Northern Virginia district’s sizeable financial resources.
Lundquist–Arora, a contributor to conservative publications like the Washington Examiner and The Federalist, recently unleashed another viral attack on FCPS that exposed its staggering budgetary breakdown, including $2.2 million a year to staff a 19-person department focused on environmental initiatives.
Additionally, even though FCPS received a $197 million budget increase for fiscal year 2027, bringing its total budget to $4.1 billion, the district opted to cut 70 teaching positions, resulting in rising class sizes.
Meanwhile, the combined salaries of the school superintendent and her chief of staff exceed $750,000 a year, even while test scores continue to plummet.
🟥 A Fairfax mom did the math on your school district — and the numbers are damning.
Stephanie Lundquist-Arora — Fairfax resident, author, and contributor to The Federalist and the Washington Examiner — just published a detailed breakdown of where FCPS actually spends your…
— Fairfax GOP (@FairfaxGOP) June 8, 2026
Fairfax, like neighboring Loudoun County, also has come under fire for reckless policies that have resulted in hefty legal fees.
The Daily Signal reported that the district has spent $56.5 million on legal fees since 2020, including hiring a law firm at the rate of $1,850 an hour to help cover up the alleged groping of 13 female students at Fairfax High School by a 19-year-old illegal immigrant.
After 13 girls at Fairfax High School were groped by a 19-year-old illegal immigrant in the hallway, the district hired a law firm at $1,850/hour to conduct what Superintendent Reid called an “independent” investigation.
A FOIA request revealed the contract says otherwise: it…
— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) June 12, 2026
