The Alexandria City School Board contends that a proposed salary increase will “likely lead to higher quality” candidates running for the board.
The School Board got an update from Alexandria City Public Schools staff on the proposed resolution, setting it up for a vote on Thursday, Dec. 3.
The board’s salary has been set at $15,000 since 2007, and the proposal would increase member pay to $28,000 starting Jan. 1, 2028, and then by $5,000 every July 1 until members make $43,000 (a 187% total raise) in the 2031 fiscal year. The resolution also includes an additional 15% for the vice chair and 30% for the chair.
Virginia law stipulates that school boards can only give themselves raises the year before an election year, and the raises take effect at the start of the year after the election.
School Board Vice Chair Alexander Scioscia said the raise is long overdue and will go into effect after the board’s next election in November 2027.
“I think one of the things that really I want to emphasize that this again would take effect next board term,” Scioscia said. “Unilaterally, we cannot raise our own salaries. This is an effort to increase recruitment for the board because it is good for our democracy to have multiple people run in elections.”
In the last School Board election in 2024, nine candidates ran unopposed for the available nine seats.
In Fairfax County, board members earn a salary of $48,000, members of the Arlington County School Board earn $51,500 and Loudoun County Board members earn $28,565.
“[M]ore competitive elections would likely lead to higher quality School Board membership,” the board said in its resolution.
The salary increase comes as ACPS faces an uphill battle this budget season with a projected $17 million shortfall, a goal of getting a collective bargaining agreement in place and a massive Capital Improvement Program budget.
Last year, Alexandria’s City Council increased their salaries, raising the mayor’s pay from $41,500 to $72,000, and City Council members’ pay from $37,500 to $68,000.
