Despite mixed community reaction, Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt included the conversion of Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 IB School into a middle school and Patrick Henry K-8 School into an elementary school in her proposed 10-year Capital Improvement Program budget.
The proposed $341 million 10-year CIP includes funding for textbooks, school modernization and other capital improvements.
The draft CIP budget includes $2.7 million for design, project management and other soft costs for the Jefferson-Houston conversion into a middle school in fiscal year 2030, as well as $27.5 million for construction in FY 2031. It also lists $858,000 in FY 2031 for design, project management and other costs for Patrick Henry’s conversion to an elementary school, as well as $8.6 million for construction in FY 2032.
Plans for Jefferson-Houston and Patrick Henry are based on a recent ACPS kindergarten-8 (K-8) analysis, which anticipates capacity at both schools exceeding 110% without the conversions.
“These renovation costs are being included proactively to prepare for potential future needs,” Kay-Wyatt told the School Board. “Please note that the funds allocated again for the Jefferson Houston and Patrick Henry conversions serve as a provisional budget for the planning and construction, contingent on the results from the K-8 analysis.”
The School Board has not signed off on the conversions, and will discuss the proposed CIP budget at a public hearing and work session on Thursday (Nov. 14).
According to ACPS:
The School Board will hold a Public Hearing on the CIP Budget on Thurs., Nov. 14, 2024, beginning at 6:00 p.m., to allow community members to share their input before the Board is scheduled to adopt the final FY 2026-2035 CIP Budget on Thurs., Dec. 19, 2024.
