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ACPS wants to come to a collective bargaining agreement with staff by the end of 2024

By James Cullum
Students get on school buses at Alexandria City High School's Minnie Howard Campus (staff photo by James Cullum

Alexandria City Public Schools officials want to reach a collective bargaining agreement by the end of this year, and a resolution to approve the process will be presented to the School Board next week.

The draft collective bargaining resolution was reviewed last Thursday by the Board’s Collective Bargaining Committee, and Board Chair Michelle Rief said that the school system has a goal of coming to an agreement with staff by the end of this year. Such a deadline means that any major changes to staff benefits and compensation would be realized with next year’s passage of the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

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Alexandria candidates launch campaigns, Gaskins and Chapman lead in fundraising

By James Cullum
Alexandria City Council Member Alyia Gaskins kicking off her mayoral campaign at Indochen in Cameron Station, Jan. 28, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria’s political scene is heating up, as a number of Democrat candidates formally launched their campaigns over the weekend.

City Council Member Alyia Gaskins held a packed kickoff at Indochen in Cameron Station on Sunday, following her opponent Vice Mayor Amy Jackson’s kickoff on Jan. 21 at Doyle’s Outpost in the West End. On Saturday, City Council Member Kirk McPike launched his campaign at Pork Barrel BBQ in Del Ray and City Council Member John Taylor Chapman did the same at Port City Brewing Company.

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Without a cost of living increase, the proposed ACPS budget is causing concern for staff and families

By James Cullum
School buses on W. Braddock Road on Dec. 10, 2021 (staff photo by James Cullum)

(Updated at 4 p.m. on Jan. 29) Critics contend that the proposed Alexandria City Public Schools budget shortchanges staff, but that’s not what the superintendent is saying.

Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt says that her proposed $374 million fiscal year 2025 budget focuses on retention with a full step increase and a 2% market rate adjustment for eligible staff. The school system is currently experiencing a staffing crisis, and the budget also increases bus driver salaries to $24 an hour for new drivers and more than $47 per hour for senior drivers with more than a decade experience with the school system. The budget also opens the door to the creation of a collective bargaining agreement with staff.

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Alexandria teens would get mental health first aid training in new recreation center program

By James Cullum
Charles Houston Recreation Center (901 Wythe Street) in Old Town (via City of Alexandria)

(Updated at 5 p.m.) One-on-one therapy, an art program and mental health first aid training are just a few of the new offerings in a proposed mental health program pilot at Alexandria recreation centers.

City Council will review the six-month, $75,000 pilot program with the city’s Department of Recreation, Parks, & Cultural Activities (RPCA) at its meeting Tuesday night. The program would run at three recreation centers — Charles Houston (901 Wythe Street), William Ramsay (5650 Sanger Avenue) and Patrick Henry (4650 Taney Avenue).

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Key endorsements heat up Jan. 9 Alexandria School Board special election

By James Cullum
Tim Beaty and Gina Baum, the candidates in the Alexandria School Board's Jan. 9 special election for the open District A seat (staff photos by James Cullum)

There’s less than a week to go until the Jan. 9 special election for Alexandria’s open District A School Board seat, and things are getting interesting.

With a focus on helping Alexandria City Public Schools craft a collective bargaining agreement with staff, retired labor leader Tim Beaty has secured key endorsements from the two other School Board Members in District A — Board Chair Michelle Rief and Jacinta Greene, as well as from City Council Members Canek Aguirre and Kirk McPike, Sheriff Sean Casey, NOVA Labor and the Education Association of Alexandria teachers union.

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The Alexandria City Council’s democratic primary field is getting crowded

By James Cullum
(Clockwise from top left) Alexandria City Council candidates Charlotte Scherer, City Council Member John Taylor Chapman, City Council Member Sarah Bagley, School Board Member Abdel Elnoubi, Council Member Kirk McPike and James Lewis announce their candidacies to the Alexandria Democratic Committee on Jan. 2, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

(Updated at 11:30 a.m.) The field of candidates is getting crowded in Alexandria’s Democratic primary for City Council.

The list of nine candidates includes four incumbents, two School Board Members, two community leaders and a former magistrate, who, if elected would be the first transgender City Council member.

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News

High vacancy prompts office-to-apartment conversion proposal in Old Town North

By James Cullum
1201 E. Abingdon Drive in Old Town North (via Google Maps)

(Updated 5:25 p.m.) The owner of an aging office building in Old Town North wants it converted into a 136-unit apartment building, and credits the decision to the “ongoing and diminished office market and current high vacancy rate.”

The five-story, 112,000-square-foot office building was built in 1983. It’s owned by Principal Life Insurance Co. of Des Moines, Iowa, and managed by PF III Abingdon LLC, an affiliate of the D.C.-based real estate investment firm the Pinkard Group.

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Alexandria Budget and Fiscal Affairs Advisory Committee members resign after criticizing ACPS superintendent

By James Cullum
ACPS Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt speaks at the ribbon cutting for Douglas MacArthur Elementary School, Aug. 18, 2023 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Two longtime members of the city’s Budget and Fiscal Affairs Advisory Committee (BFAAC) resigned earlier this month after severely criticizing the leadership of Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt during a meeting.

BFAAC Vice Chair Kathy Stenzel resigned on Dec. 14 and Board Member Karen Graf resigned on Dec. 16 without providing a reason, according to the city. Graf was chair of the Alexandria School Board in 2013 and 2014, and was a School Board member for six years.

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Alexandria discloses list of ‘racially restrictive’ covenants on city-owned properties

By James Cullum
Alexandria City Hall sign (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria has identified dozens of racially restrictive zoning covenants, many of which have been on the books for more than 100 years.

Next Tuesday, City Council will review a report on racially restrictive covenants that, during much of the 20th century, prohibited non-white residents from moving into subdivisions and neighborhoods throughout the city. City staff are also asking Council to review a process for a property owner to get the illegal covenant by filing for a certificate of release from the Alexandria Circuit Court.

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Alexandria’s Natural Resources Manager ‘retires early in frustration’ after battles within city government

By Vernon Miles
Alexandria Natural Resources Manager Rod Simmons (courtesy photo)

Alexandria Natural Resources Manager Rod Simmons has been a prominent voice for environmental concerns around the city in recent years, but Simmons told ALXnow that battles behind the scenes have led him to retire after 27 years in city government.

Simmons, a city employee with the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs, was at the center of controversies related to Taylor Run and other projects.

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‘I’ve done what I could do for the City of Alexandria,’ says retiring Fire Chief Corey Smedley

By James Cullum
Alexandria Fire Chief Corey Smedley (on left) and Sheriff Sean Casey at the George Washington Birthday Parade in Old Town, Feb. 20, 2023 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Mutual respect, growth, and an ability to be vulnerable: That’s the kind of relationship retiring Alexandria Fire Chief Corey Smedley wants with his next job, wherever that might be.

Smedley says he wants purpose, not a position, and that he’d like for the right opportunity to find him.

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