Alexandria City Public Schools faces a $17 million shortfall as it starts its 2028 fiscal year budget deliberations.
Dominic Turner, the school system’s chief financial officer, laid out a stark reality with rapidly rising expenditures on Wednesday night at Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard Campus.
Turner said that without increasing revenue, ACPS faces significant program reductions to balance its budget. He also said that ACPS is working with the Education Association of Alexandria teachers union to get to a three-year collective bargaining agreement, and that funding will be decided by the city.
“Ultimately, it’s going to come down to the funding that we’re able to get from the City of Alexandria, because they provide us with the lion’s share of our revenue,” Turner said. “We really need the support of our City Council to be able to do that.”
Interim Superintendent Grace Taylor will craft the FY 2028 budget and is scheduled to deliver her proposed FY 2028-37 Capital Improvement Program budget to the School Board on Thursday, Nov. 5. The FY 2028 combined funds budget proposal will follow on Jan. 21, 2027.
“Based on our assumptions in our fiscal forecast model we are projecting a roughly $17 million shortfall,” ACPS told ALXnow in an email. “Please note that our assumptions in the model does not include any collectively bargained agreement, which is a priority for ACPS to secure in FY 2028.”
Earlier this year, city leaders criticized the school system’s one-year, $12.7 million collective bargaining process. The agreement was never finalized.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins told ALXnow that the upcoming retreat will be City Council’s first opportunity to get budget projections, and would not comment on the ramifications of the ACPS budget shortfall or the impending collective bargaining agreement with 2,400 teachers and staff.
Taylor will also appear at City Council’s annual budget retreat with department heads on Saturday, Nov. 7.
The Alexandria City School Board will vote on its FY 2028 combined funds budget proposal on Feb. 18, 2027, less than three weeks after incoming Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt starts working for the school system.
Last June, the School Board approved the school system’s FY 2027 $401.18 million combined funds budget. The budget was passed after nearly eight months of continuous finagling with the city, where City Council refused to budge on filling a $5.6 million gap. The School Board made ends meet by cutting 56 staff positions, making program cuts, and increasing facility use fees and employee health care contributions.
