(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) With a handful of schools exceeding 110% utilization, the Alexandria School Board is moving forward with a lengthy redistricting process to redraw elementary and middle school boundaries.
The School Board, which is now starting its redistricting process from scratch, wants any changes to go into effect at the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year, according to School Board Vice Chair Kelly Carmichael Booz.
On Tuesday, the ACPS Redistricting Steering Committee held a work session to map out its priorities, which include capacity reassignments in schools, as well as a balanced distribution of students riding on buses and participating in special programs.
“The new timeline right now is targeting the 2026-2027 school year, not 2025-2026,” Booz said at the meeting.
A number of elementary schools have more than 110% utilization, including John Adams, Mount Vernon, Patrick Henry, and Samuel W. Tucker Elementary Schools, according to a 2023 boundary analysis.
At the same time, enrollment at Cora Kelly, Douglas MacArthur, George Mason, and William Ramsay Elementary Schools is below 90%.
Alexandria City Public Schools is required by law to conduct a boundary analysis every five years or if a school opens. The analysis was initiated due to the opening of the new Douglas MacArthur Elementary School opened in August.
It’s been six years since the last shift of elementary school boundaries impacted approximately 1,351 students, according to ACPS. That 2018 redistricting was the result of a year-long process.