Good Monday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: The forecast predicts sunny conditions throughout the day with a high temperature of 92 degrees, with northwest winds of 6 mph shifting to southwest in the afternoon. As we move into Monday night, there’s a small chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2am, with the sky remaining partly cloudy. The temperature is expected to drop to a low of around 73 degrees with south winds of 3 to 6 mph. The possibility of precipitation stands at 20%.
🚨 You need to know
A new study found that Virginia is under-funding schools at a state level — coming in at 14% less than the national average.
A report from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission said Virginia’s school districts receive 14% less from the state than the national average, or around $1,900 less per student, according to the Washington Post.
The study found that the culprit behind the underfunding is the state’s Standards of Quality (SOQ) formula, which determines the total number of staff positions needed for school divisions, the cost of that staffing, and the total divided between state and local government’s ability to pay.
However, that formula doesn’t factor in regional labor costs, school division size, or students with higher needs, which causes the state to lowball the needs of schools. The report also said the SOQ formula is prone to underestimate salary costs and overestimate rural school divisions’ ability to pay the cost of staffing.
According to the Post:
For example, in fiscal 2021, the formula calculated that school divisions needed $10.7 billion in state and local funding, but school districts actually spent $17.3 billion on operations, $6.6 billion more than the formula calculated.
The report included several recommendations to change the formula, from ending a cap on support staff funding to an entire overhaul to the formula.
📈 Friday’s most read
The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Jul 14, 2023.
- Experimental new cocktail lounge opening above Del Ray Pizzeria today (1437 views)
- ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria (1029 views)
- Notes: PETA doubles bounty for information on about attempt to bait and injure Alexandria dogs (700 views)
- Just Listed in Alexandria | ALXnow (649 views)
📅 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
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For many remote workers, a messy home is distracting.
You’re getting pulled into meetings, and your unread emails keep ticking up. But you can’t focus because pet hair tumbleweeds keep floating across the floor, your desk has a fine layer of dust and you keep your video off in meetings so no one sees the chaos behind you.
It’s no secret a dirty home is distracting and even adds stress to your life. And who has the energy to clean after work? That’s why it’s smart to enlist the help of professionals, like Well-Paid Maids.
Monarch Montessori School is now enrolling infants, toddlers and three year-olds for its full-time Montessori program. We offer a seamless enrollment process which involves submitting an application for review, paying the enrollment fee and submitting the remaining enrollment materials before your proposed start date.
At Monarch Montessori School, we aim to provide an authentic Montessori learning experience. At our Alexandria location, we currently have 8 openings in our Primary classroom (ages 3-6), and 6 openings in our Toddler classroom. Additionally, there are 3 infant openings at this time.
Our first floor space is an open concept. Infants and toddlers share the same large classroom. Children ages 3-6 are in two classrooms on our second floor. Each classroom has one lead and assistant guide. We offer a year-round program, with intermittent breaks for Spring Break and Winter Break.
Scholarship Fund of Alexandria Annual Gala & Auction
Do good while having a good time at the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria’s 38th Annual Gala and Auction at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center. The fun begins with a 2-hour open bar reception while mingling with 499 other Alexandrians who
