City Council ignored a plea from the School Board Tuesday night, unanimously approving a resolution to change how the city appropriates funding to Alexandria City Public Schools.
City Council’s resolution directs ACPS, in preparation for the Fiscal Year 2028 budget, to submit estimates for funds needed through major classifications instead of a lump sum. The School Board asked that the move, which was introduced at a March 4 joint work session with City Council, be postponed as it restricts the school system from redirecting budgeted funds to pay for programs and services.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins said the measure is non-binding and won’t change the operational role of the School Board. The change would not go into effect in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget, but staff would plan to incorporate the change in next year’s budget.
“It’s non-binding, it’s an opportunity to signal this is a conversation that we want to have,” Gaskins said at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. “What it is is being honest and transparent around [how] we would like to see information presented back to us, but also how we want the public to understand Council’s deliberations.”
The resolution asks ACPS to submit estimates for funds needed for the following major classifications — instruction, administration, attendance and health, pupil transportation, operation and maintenance, school food services and other non-instructional operations, facilities, debt and fund transfers, technology, and contingency reserves.
In her blog, School Board Member Kelly Carmichael Booz said the new system would legally prohibit the school system from spending funds outside those classifications without City Council’s approval.
City Councilman Canek Aguirre said that members in the community might be caught off guard by the proposal.
“We’re going to see how it goes,” Aguirre said. “It’s a matter of being able to say, ‘okay, well, if you want this money for collective bargaining, are you actually putting it into that category, or are you shifting that money into a different category?'”
Councilman Abdel Elnoubi, a former School Board member, said the School Board’s controversial decision to convert Jefferson-Houston K-8 School into a middle school was an example of growing frustrations over school spending accountability.
“The school board voted decided to eliminate an elementary school program at [Jefferson-Houston] that serves some of the most vulnerable kids in our system, without rigorous analysis and without community outreach,” Elnoubi said. “Their own staff admitted that the community was not made aware of what was going to happen, and then when the community raised concerns, when Council offered to engage and raise concerns about that vote, it was reaffirmed again this year without any further community engagement or engagement with Council.”
City Manager Jim Parajon’s FY 2027 proposed budget provides $336.9 million for Alexandria City Public Schools, including $286.6 million in operating funds — a 1.5% increase over the current budget. This also includes $25 million in ACPS capital funding.
The ACPS budget approved by the School Board last month requests a $292 million operating budget with a 3.5% increase in the city contribution. School system officials acknowledged adjustments were possible due to the 3.5% increase being above city budget guidance. The School Board will approve the final ACPS budget on June 11.
The School Board had asked that the ACPS appropriations resolution be tabled, since it was introduced without much discussion between the bodies. The Board sent City Council the following letter on March 9.
Dear Mayor Gaskins and Members of the Alexandria City Council,
Re: Vote to Appropriate ACPS Funding by Major Classification
The Alexandria City School Board requests that the City Council postpone its scheduled vote on March 10, 2026, regarding the Resolution of Intent to transition ACPS appropriations from lump-sum to classification-based appropriation under Virginia Code § 22.1-94. A governance change of this significance warrants deliberate, collaborative, and transparent discussion between our two bodies before any action is taken. The current timeline does not provide sufficient opportunity for discussion.
The Resolution Has Not Been Publicly Discussed
The Resolution of Intent to appropriate ACPS funding by major classification beginning in FY 2028 was introduced for the first time at the joint City Council/School Board budget work session on March 4, 2026. No substantive discussion occurred between the two bodies during that session, which was focused on the FY 2027 Budget. To our knowledge, the Resolution was posted on a revised City Council docket two days later and was never formally shared with the School Board. The community deserves sufficient time to review and comment on a proposal that would alter the fiscal relationship between the City Council and the School Board.
Significant Operational Questions Remain Unanswered
Classification-based appropriation is not merely a change in budget presentation. Under Virginia Code § 22.1-89, when funds are appropriated by major classification, the School Board is legally prohibited from expending funds outside those classifications without the governing body’s consent. This creates binding legal constraints on the School Board’s ability to manage the operating budget throughout the fiscal year.
Before this change is adopted, the following considerations must be addressed jointly:
- Collective bargaining interaction. The School Board’s collective bargaining resolution, in accordance with Virginia Code § 40.1-57.2, provides that nothing in it shall restrict the Board’s authority to establish its budget or appropriate funds. Collective bargaining agreement-mandated salary and benefit costs span multiple statutory classifications, particularly Instruction and Administration, Attendance and Health. It is unclear as to how classification-level appropriation caps will interact with the School Board’s obligation to implement negotiated collective bargaining agreements.
- Transfer authority and administrative burden. The City Council has not provided any information on how these transfers will be made or what will be required of ACPS. Classification-based appropriation will necessitate a new approval workflow for cross-category budget amendments and could impair the division’s ability to promptly respond to operational needs. Both bodies are reducing positions and seeking efficiencies; the cost and capacity implications of this new process should be evaluated.
- State policy alignment and rationale. The Virginia Appropriation Act includes recurring language urging localities to appropriate school funds as a lump sum. The predominant practice statewide is lump-sum appropriation. Why does the City Council propose to go in a divergent direction?
ACPS Already Provides Classification-Level Transparency
ACPS is committed to fiscal transparency and has consistently provided the City Council with detailed information about how school funds are allocated and spent. The adopted ACPS Budget presents expenditures by the major classifications prescribed under § 22.1-115. The annual ACPS audit reports actual expenditures in these same categories.
We are open to discussing fiscal transparency and accountability practices; however, we have concerns about introducing legal constraints and operational rigidity that a classification-based appropriation imposes under § 22.1-89.
Our Request
The School Board requests that Council postpone the March 10, 2026 vote and schedule a joint work session to review the legal framework, operational impacts, and the experiences of the few Virginia localities that currently employ this approach.
We make this request in a spirit of partnership. Both bodies share a commitment to ensure that Alexandria’s students receive a high-quality education and that the public’s investment in our schools is managed responsibly. A governance change of this magnitude warrants a deliberative process grounded in collaboration, which will lead to a stronger outcome for our community.
Respectfully,
Michelle Rief, Chair
Christopher Harris, Vice Chair
Abdulahi Abdalla
Tim Beaty
Kelly Carmichael Booz
Donna L. Kenley
Ryan Reyna
Alexander Crider Scioscia
Ashley Simpson Baird
