Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt will unveil her fiscal year 2026 budget this week, and the city is asking the school division to keep the budget increase over last year’s budget modest.
In his budget presentation to the City Council in November, City Manager Jim Parajon outlined a 2%, or $5.5 million, combined funds budget increase for ACPS amounting to $278.5 million.
City Council holds the ACPS purse strings and last year increased taxes to pay for a $14 million increase to the ACPS operating budget. The city’s allocation to the school system went from $258.7 million in FY 2024 to $273 million in FY 2025 — still falling millions short of what the School Board wanted.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins said she”ll be engaging with the public on the best path forward as Parajon is set to unveil the city’s proposed budget next month.
“In these challenging economic times, my priority is ensuring we are thoughtful and accountable stewards of the public’s resources,” Gaskins said.
Kay-Wyatt will unveil the budget proposal at the School Board meeting on Thursday night. Specific budget numbers have yet to be published, but last fall the school system gave an early indication that it wouldn’t overreach in its request.
“This year… staff have attempted to guide the budget discussion to better align with the already identified ACPS Priority Areas for SY (school year) 24-25,” ACPS staff wrote in October. “These priority areas have been identified by reviewing student data. In order to move the needle on student achievement, continued focus on these areas is needed.”
The combined funds budget includes the ACPS operating fund, the grants and special projects fund, and the school nutrition services fund.
Last month, the Board voted 8-0 with one abstention in approving Kay-Wyatt’s proposed 10-year $346 million CIP budget, which is $75 million (28%) more than what is currently approved by the city. The plan includes funding for textbooks, school modernization and other capital improvements.
Below are key dates this budget season. City Council will adopt the budget in May, followed by the the School Board in June.
- January 28, 2025—FY 2026 Combined Funds Work Session #1
- January 30, 2025—Public Hearing on the FY 2026 Combined Funds Budget and Work Session #2
- February 18, 2025—Add/Delete Work Session #1
- February 20, 2025— Approval of the FY 2025 Combined Funds Budget
- March-May, 2025—City Council Operating and CIP Work Sessions and Add/Delete Sessions
- May, 2025—City Council Budget Adoption of the FY 2026 Budget
In April, City Council will adopt the tax rate as well as their FY 2026 General Fund and FY 2026-2035 CIP Budgets. At that time the School Board will further discuss the CIP and CF Budgets at the following meetings or work sessions:
- May 1, 2025—Presentation of Superintendent’s Adjusted Proposed Budget on the FY 2026 CF and FY 2026-2035 CIP Budgets
- May 6, 2025—FY 2026-2035 CIP and FY 2026 CF Budgets Work Session
- May 6, 2025—Public Hearing on the FY 2026-2035 CIP and FY 2026 CF Budgets during the School Board Meeting
- May 27, 2025— FY 2026-2035 CIP and FY 2026 CF Budgets Add/Delete Work Session #1
- May 29, 2025— FY 2026-2035 CIP and FY 2026 CF Budgets Add/Delete Work Session #2, if needed
- June 12, 2025–Adoption of the Final FY 2025 CF and FY 2025-2034 CIP Budgets
