Why Is Virginia’s Largest Public School District Spending so Much on Lawyers?

In just seven years, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has spent nearly $60 million on lawyers.

During fiscal year 2026 alone, the district set a new record, spending $14.4 million on legal fees.


Source: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests and FCPS Transparency

For a school system that routinely cites budget constraints when discussing teacher pay, classroom resources, and student services, these legal expenditures deserve far more public scrutiny than they have received.

The most striking figure is the nearly $8.9 million paid to King & Spalding during fiscal year 2026. That single firm’s bill exceeded FCPS’s total annual legal spending in every fiscal year before fiscal year 2024.

King & Spalding is representing FCPS in litigation brought by a teacher whistleblower who alleges that school officials participated in funding and facilitating student abortions without parental or guardian knowledge or consent. Although King & Spalding—the law firm that was both the district’s external “independent” investigator and its defense—has suggested that FCPS is innocent in all matters, the whistleblower continues to pursue charges for retaliation against a whistleblower.

FCPS is also spending heavily to defend itself in litigation involving some of the district’s most controversial policies, including those concerning gender identity, student pronouns, access to sex-specific facilities and sports, and lack of parental notification regarding students’ gender transitions.

FCPS Legal Fees by Law Firm, Fiscal Year 2026


Source: FCPS Transparency

The legal spending extends well beyond courtroom defense. The district has repeatedly hired outside law firms to conduct what it characterizes as “independent” investigations into its own actions.

Following allegations that an illegal immigrant sexually assaulted 13 female students at Fairfax High School, FCPS retained McGuireWoods to investigate the administration’s response, reportedly paying attorneys up to $1,850 per hour.

The outcome surprised few.

Last month, Superintendent Michelle Reid announced that “the external investigation confirmed that our administration acted promptly and appropriately to stop this behavior.”

Then the district refused to release even a redacted copy of the report to parents or the public, citing attorney-client privilege.

That sequence raises an obvious question: How “independent” is an investigation when the client selects the investigators, pays millions of dollars for their work, and then withholds the report from public view?

Public schools exist to educate children—not to build legal war chests. Yet the district’s legal spending has become so large that it now rivals the budgets of many entire school divisions in Virginia.

Taxpayers have every right to ask why a school district is spending nearly $60 million on lawyers in seven years. Parents have every right to ask why outside counsel is receiving millions while classrooms continue to compete for limited resources. And citizens should expect greater transparency when public dollars are used to defend controversial policies, commission “independent” investigations, and fight litigation against the very community the district is supposed to serve.

Nearly $60 million in legal fees is not merely an accounting statistic. It is a reflection of institutional priorities. The question is whether those priorities still align with the educational mission that taxpayers expect FCPS to fulfill.

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[ H/T The Daily Signal ]