After cutting 275 teaching positions and increasing class sizes this academic year, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has launched a program to fund PhDs for some of its highest-paid district administrators.
On Aug. 5, 2025, FCPS Chief of Schools Geovanny Ponce, who earns an annual salary of $289,565, emailed hundreds of district administrators to announce the program. “FCPS is launching a district-sponsored doctoral cohort program in partnership with George Mason University,” he wrote. “This program will lead to an Education Leadership PhD concentration, providing an opportunity to deepen your expertise and advance your career.”
On Dec. 16, 2025, Kathryn Blackburn, a program assistant at George Mason University, emailed dozens of selected FCPS administrators to notify them about the program’s upcoming virtual orientation. “During this orientation,” she wrote, “students and leadership will learn about program requirements and expectations, student responsibilities, as well as answer questions about the program.”
The Executive Limitation 4 Monitoring Report—intended to demonstrate and certify whether the district’s superintendent is complying with School Board policy on human resources, specifically how the district manages its workforce—was presented at the Dec. 4, 2025 meeting of the Fairfax County School Board. It describes the district-funded program, stating, “FCPS supports high-achieving leaders through this rigorous academic experience, which will include dedicated FCPS-led in-person and hybrid sessions.”
The report, which appears to be the only publicly available information on the program, does not outline its cost to taxpayers or the application process for interested administrators. It does, however, specify that eligible participants must have at least five years of experience as a principal, director, or above, and “must commit to remaining in FCPS for a period of time following completion of the program.”
Given that Superintendent Michelle Reid, who earns an annual salary of $445,353, has argued that Fairfax County Public Schools—Virginia’s largest school district—is in crisis due to “years of chronic underfunding,” severe enough to increase class sizes, it is inconsistent to support funding a PhD program for some of the district’s highest-paid administrators.
It is also concerning that the School Board certified her as compliant in managing the district’s workforce at its December meeting despite ongoing concerns about how limited resources are being allocated.
In fact, some of the selected candidates who received GMU’s orientation email earn more than $200,000 per year. Among the roughly 20 administrators selected are individuals listed in the table below. Their FY2026 salaries, along with their positions, were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
| Name | Position | Salary (FY2026) |
| William Solomon | Chief Human Resources | $278,323 |
| Rebecca G Baenig | Assistant Superintendent | $233,309 |
| Pablo Resendiz | Assistant Superintendent | $228,735 |
| Marie M Lemmon | Assistant Superintendent | $228,735 |
| Kimberly P Greer | Executive Principal | $223,318 |
| Bettrys Huffman | Executive Director | $216,766 |
| April Lashana Cage | Executive Principal | $210,407 |
| Candace J Hunstad | Executive Director | $194,356 |
Ponce, who announced the program, selected two of his long-time colleagues for the district-funded PhD cohort. Superintendent Reid recruited Ponce, William Solomon, and Pablo Resendiz to join Fairfax County Public Schools in July 2023, shortly after their failing former district, Houston Independent School District (ISD), was placed under state intervention for sustained performance and governance concerns.
Houston ISD’s trash is Fairfax County’s treasure, apparently.
Despite Resendiz’s candidacy in this doctoral program, and the stated requirement to remain in FCPS, he has recently alerted colleagues that he would be taking leave from the district for at least a year. While Fairfax County’s taxpayers cover expenses for his PhD, Resendiz will be the regional chief for Fort Worth Independent School District’s North campuses.
Selecting colleagues from his former school district for the PhD program is not Ponce’s only decision drawing scrutiny. Ponce, who is slated to lead the public school district in Champaign, Illinois next year, has drawn scrutiny over hiring practices involving close associates.
For example, inside sources claim the district hired Gustavo Suarez, Ponce’s father-in-law, to be FCPS’s business operations assistant in a non-competitive process. A FOIA response confirmed that an individual named Gustavo Suarez is working as a business operations assistant in FY2026, with an annual salary of $79,774.
Such patterns of internal hiring and close professional relationships help contextualize broader concerns about how district resources and opportunities are allocated. The new doctoral program, for example, raises questions about FCPS priorities at a time when the district has reduced teaching positions and increased class sizes amid claims of chronic underfunding.
While the initiative is framed as a professional development opportunity for senior leaders, it is being implemented for some of the district’s highest‑paid administrators with limited publicly available detail on its overall cost, selection process, or return on investment.
The overlap between senior leadership, internal recruitment networks, and eligibility for the doctoral program further underscores concerns about transparency and decision-making within the district.
At moments like this, strong external monitoring of public school systems is essential to ensure that resource allocation aligns with community needs and that oversight does not rely solely on internal actors.
As FCPS continues to cite fiscal constraints in instructional areas, the decision to finance PhDs for top district administrators earning over $200,000 annually is indefensible.
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