Good Wednesday morning, Alexandria!
☔ Today’s weather: Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 42 and low of 31.
⛅ Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 41 and low of 30. Sunrise at 7:15 am and sunset at 5:31 pm.
🚨 You need to know
An accounting error by the Virginia Department of Education means local schools around Virginia will receive $201 million less in state aid than expected, the Richmond Times-Dispatch first reported.
Additionally, that error hit for $58 million less for the current K-12 year. State officials clarified that the error meant those funds were never received by school divisions.
The error emerged when the state failed to account for funding changes relating to the elimination of the state’s portion of the grocery sales tax. The elimination of the grocery sales tax was part of a broader tax cut package.
State funds accounted for 19.7% of Alexandria City Public School’s (ACPS) operating fund for Fiscal Year 2023’s operating budget — a not insignificant amount, but the majority of ACPS funding comes from the city appropriation — 79.9% of the budget. The state’s error will have a bigger impact on school districts where more of the budget is reliant on the state.
“State revenues are projected to increase mainly in the area of basic aid, sales tax, supplemental lottery per pupil allocation, and at-risk,” the ACPS budget said. “This is slightly offset by decreases in other funding categories.”
📈 Tuesday’s most read
The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Jan 31, 2023.
- Old Town residents and business owners cry foul over new George Washington Birthday Parade route (1885 views)
- Lorton man charged with DWI after multi-vehicle crash in Old Town (1071 views)
- Inside Alexandria’s race to install new floodwater mitigation projects before the next big storm (166 views)
- Notes: Law firm in minority-owned business grant lawsuit has ties to Trump (123 views)
🗞 Other local coverage
- Learn About Public Service: Apply Now To Join Alexandria’s Community Academies
Zebra (Tuesday @ 4:51 pm)
- Fire Alarm System Was Shut Off When Alexandria High-Rise Fire Occurred
Patch (Tuesday @ 3:24 pm)
- Don’t Be Left Out in the Cold on National Hot Chocolate Day!
Zebra (Tuesday @ 3:22 pm)
- George Washington Birthday Parade, Other 2023 Events In Alexandria
Patch (Tuesday @ 10:25 am)
- New Alexandria Logo, Tourism Campaign Coming
Alexandria Living (Tuesday @ 7:54 am)
- Some Alexandria City Services to Move to ‘West End City Hall’
Alexandria Living (Tuesday @ 7:33 am)
🐦 Tweets of note
https://twitter.com/AlexandriaNow/status/1620397808644669440
Not using your headlights in the rain is just eww. pic.twitter.com/IKdnzubnED
— VDOT (@VaDOT) January 30, 2023
There are still a few days to submit your thoughts regarding proposed No Turn On Red treatments. Comments can be submitted via email to [email protected] pic.twitter.com/MVRzxBUBKz
— Alexandria Transportation & Environmental Services (@AlexandriaVATES) January 31, 2023
📅 Upcoming events
Here is what’s going on today in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
- No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.
Recent Stories
There is good news for those grumbling about potholes along King Street and Duke Street: repaving season will sweep over the two arterial roads this month. Repaving work is scheduled…
Patrick O’Brian enthusiasts rejoice: another Age of Sail replica ship is coming to Alexandria. The schooner Pride of Baltimore II, a replica of the 1812 ship Pride of Baltimore, will…
Good Wednesday morning, Alexandria! ☀️ Today’s weather: Expect patchy fog in the morning until 10am, followed by a sunny day with a high temperature near 84°F and calm southeast winds…
Buildings resembling New York City’s iconic Flatiron building are being proposed for the former home of the GenOn Power Plant in Old Town North. Hilco Redevelopment Partners just released new…
If you had a chance to enhance a child’s future with a time commitment of less than 2 hours a week, how would you respond? You have that opportunity right now to join over 200 Alexandrians as a reading tutor volunteer with the Alexandria Tutoring Consortium (ATC).
ATC tutors work with one child in kindergarten, first, or second grade in Alexandria public schools who need extra help with reading. Tutors meet with their Book Buddy 1-2 times each week for 30 minutes October-May at school, during school hours. Many struggling readers only receive one-on-one instruction through this program, and it makes all the difference. Last year, ATC served 195 children, of whom 82% ended the year reading on grade level and 96% made substantial reading gains. But the need is great, and we are still seeing learning lags from the pandemic.
This year, ATC plans to significantly increase the size of the program to reach over 250 students and to serve every elementary school in Alexandria. This is very exciting news, but we will only succeed if we can recruit more tutors. ATC trains you, matches you with a child, and provides ongoing lesson materials and support.
If you have been thinking about buying your first home or haven’t owned one in the last three years, THIS IS FOR YOU!
In the DMV area, it can be difficult to save the downpayment necessary for you to get into your own home. We have a solution. The Funder’s Summit!
We have assembled a summit with different municipalities to tell you how to access their funds for your home purchase.
Family Fun Fall Fest
Mark your calendars and join us for the Family Fun Fall Fest on Saturday, October 7, 2023, from 11am – 2pm!
This FREE in-person event will be held at the Shoppes at Foxchase, located at 4641 Duke St, Alexandria, VA
2023 Alexandria Fall Festival
Food trucks, bounce houses, pony rides, magic shows and more at the 2023 Alexandria Fall Festival, an Alexandria Living event presented by The Patterson Group. Join us at River Farm on Sunday, Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
