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It could be two years before ACPS comes to a collective bargaining agreement, says Superintendent

ACPS headquarters and clock (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

It might take some time, but Alexandria City Public Schools has opened the door to collective bargaining with its employees.

On Thursday, the School Board conducted its first work session on the topic, and Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt says it could be two years before the issue comes to the Board for a vote. The Board has to develop a collective bargaining resolution (CBR) with staff representatives, who will iron out wage and other potential increases through a long process.

“It depends on how fast we adopt our CBR,” Kay-Wyatt said. “It could be a year, it could be a year-and-a-half, but I think we have to also watch the budget timeline. It could be two years. We hope that’s not the case.”

It took Alexandria nearly two years to negotiate collective bargaining for police and firefighters, who both saw increases in pay budgeted into the city’s recently approved fiscal year 2024 budget. Alexandria was first Northern Virginia jurisdiction to pass the measures for employee rights and wages in 2021, after former Governor Ralph Northam announced statewide implementation of the law in 2020.

“I’m really glad that we are getting ourselves moving on this conversation,” Board Member Kelly Carmichael Booz said. “It is long overdue.”

ACPS approved funds to develop an official ACPS plan and policy for collective bargaining with employees in its recently approved budget.

“The first thing to do is identify who are the interested parties and stakeholders in this whole endeavor,” said Steve Ray, an attorney with Isler Dare, P.C. who is advising ACPS. “The CBR is going to need to address what are the rights and authorities of ACPS… the rights of the employees’ exclusive representative, the scope of the bargaining, and how to resolve impasses, resolutions, and procedures.”

Dawn Lucas, president of the Education Association of Alexandria, said that she’s been looking to start this work for a long time.

“We look forward to working collaboratively with ACPS as it establishes collective bargaining rights.,” Lucas said. “We want the opportunity to collectively bargain for working conditions, forced labor, and things of that nature.”

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Alexandria School Board to present Council with staggered terms proposal this fall

ACPS Headquarters in Alexandria (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Some big changes are coming to the Alexandria School Board.

Tonight, the Board will conduct a work session on whether to stagger the election cycle for its members, as well as reducing the number of members. There are currently nine Board members serving three-year terms in Districts A, B and C, and their elections run concurrently with City Council.

The Board has talked about staggering terms since 2016, but conversations were halted during the pandemic. Discussions resumed late last year and the Board now plans to present a resolution to City Council by the end of this year, according to information discussed in a joint work session with the Board and City Council on Monday.

“All nine members of the School Board would still be up for office and election in November 2024,” Board Member Kelly Carmichael Booz said. “And then whatever model would start from there, would happen in the subsequent years, whether it’s a model where in 2025 someone gets the short straw and they only have a one year term.”

City Council Member Canek Aguirre thinks that the nine-member School Board has too many members.

“Frankly, I’m not really willing to entertain this unless there’s a conversation around reduction in the size (of the Board),” Aguirre said at the work session. “I don’t see the need for it, honestly… Because Falls Church with seven people is a smaller district, Arlington is larger district. They’ve got five (members), we’ve got nine. Loudoun’s got nine — much bigger than us.”

At issue is the high level of turnover that occurs when every Board member is up for reelection at the same time. There were six new members elected in November 2021,  five new members elected in 2018, five new members in 2015 election and seven new members in 2012 election.

Changing the election cycle and/or reducing the size of the Board would take a Board resolution, approval by City Council and then a charter change with the Virginia General Assembly.

“I think the way this is probably going to go down, someone will present that action before the Council,” Mayor Justin Wilson said. “At that point hopefully, a majority of the Board is speaking with one voice, and then you guys (the Board/Alexandria City Public Schools) can come in and we can have some dialogue about it and then we’ll take an action. It rolls in with our normal legislative package process, and that’s something that we do in the fall. Then we sit down and have a dialogue with the General Assembly delegation about what we’re requesting.”

A recent ACPS survey with 450 respondents found that 43% strongly agree and 31% “agree” staggered terms would improve the continuity of operations for the school division, versus 13% who strongly disagreed and 4% agreed, while 7% had no opinion and 2% didn’t know. The survey also showed that 31% of respondents strongly agree that a seven-member Board could sufficiently represent Alexandria residents, 14% agreed, 18% strongly disagreed, 16% disagreed, 16% didn’t care, and 5% didn’t know.

Some of the proposed alternatives are below:

  • Three-year Board Member term options — The two members of one district would be up for election every year, starting in 2025, followed by the second district in 2026 and the third district in 2027
  • Four-year Board Member term options — One district would be up for election every year, starting in 2025, followed by the second district in 2026, the third district in 2027 and the fourth in 2028. There would be no election in 2029, and the rotation would begin in 2030
  • Four-year and only at-large positions — There would be five members up for election (selected randomly by the registrar) in 2026, no election in 2027, and the remaining four members up for election in 2028

The Board will discuss the matter in a work session starting at 7 p.m. tonight at ACPS Central Office (1340 Braddock Place).

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ACPS unveils new two-year agreement with police department for school resource officers

Alexandria police at Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard Campus on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021 (staff photo by James Cullum)

After years in development, a new agreement was released between Alexandria City Public Schools and the Alexandria Police Department to provide school resource officers (SROs) at the city’s high school and middle schools.

The new memorandum of understanding between ACPS and APD has been a long time coming. SROs were defunded by the City Council in last year’s budget, and Alexandria City Public Schools spent the first few months of the 2021-2022 school year without the officers in its high school and middle schools. The officers were returned after ACPS pleaded with Council for their return in the wake of multiple incidents with weapons in schools.

“You will see that a lot of the MOU remains unchanged,” Alicia Hart, the ACPS chief of facilities and operations, told the School Board last Thursday night. “The areas where substantial updates and additions were added include the addition of the use of shared technology resources section, which speaks to the ways in which this partnership may transcend into the joint use of technology resources to support safety.”

Many updated are based on recommendations by the School Law Enforcement Partnership (SLEP) Advisory Group, which formed last fall.

Those changes include police providing quarterly statistical reports with metrics to measure the effectiveness of their work, that school administrators complete ACPS Law Enforcement Occurrence Report forms, and that the school system meet with police quarterly to review SRO performance and data.

With juvenile crime is on the rise, the school system also plans to roll out a metal detector program this month.

There were 188 incidents requiring a police response within Alexandria City Public Schools in the first two quarters of the current school year, according to a school safety report. Seventeen Alexandria City Public School students were arrested. There were also 15 weapons-related incidents, 41 students injured, 44 fights/assaults and a report of sexual misconduct.

In March, an Alexandria City High School teacher confiscated handgun from a student and in April a suspended student was arrested for allegedly firing a gun near a bus stop at the Bradlee Shopping Center.

The current MOU expires on June 30.

City Council will discuss the matter with the School Board on May 15 (Monday), and the School Board will hold a public hearing and vote on it on May 18 (Thursday). If approved, the MOU will go into effect on July 1 and be renewed in 2025.

According to the proposed MOU:

  • Police will provide quarterly statistical reports with metrics to measure the effectiveness of the ACPS/APD partnership
  • School administrators must fill out an ACPS Law Enforcement Occurrence Report form within 24 hours of a law enforcement action at a school. Those actions may include assisting administrators as requested, investigations, referrals, and arrests
  • ACPS will participate in law enforcement sponsored/related educational activities and seminars
  • ACPS will handle discipline within schools and SROs should not be involved with enforcement of school rules or disciplinary infractions that are not violations of the law
  • APD must meet with APD in August, November, February and May of each school year to review SRO performance and discuss reporting data. The meetings will include daily SRO attendance, calls for assistance, incident reporting and educational activities with students
  • Each principal with an SRO must complete quarterly assessment forms
  • Principals will permit the SROs to complete an educational activity at their assigned school with a goal of one activity per quarter. Such an activity could include classroom briefings, student council briefings and other presentations
  • SROs may intervene to de-escalate situations. However, an SRO should not be involved in the physical restraint of a stuent unless there is imminent danger of serious physical harm to self or others
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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

ACPS interim Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt at the deed signing ceremony for the Winkler Botanical Preserve, September 15, 2022. (staff photo by James Cullum)

It’s been a busy week in Alexandria.

City Council unanimously approved City Manager Jim Parajon’s $884.3 million fiscal year 2024 budget, funding citywide pay increases, a fully funded school system and collective bargaining agreements with the police and fire departments.

On Thursday night, the School Board announced that Interim Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt has been promoted to superintendent. Kay-Wyatt has led Alexandria’s 16,000 student-strong school system since the beginning of this school year after the resignation of Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. So far, she’s managed ACPS through post-pandemic educational issues, an increase in juvenile crime and the ACPS budget process. Her four-year contract ends on June 30, 2027, and her annual salary is $265,000.

Much of the week was punctuated by crime incidents, including a gunfire incidents in Landmark, an attempted carjacking on Duke Street and another shots fired incident near the Braddock Road Metro station.

  1. New tool maps out income and racial inequality across Alexandria
  2. Fairfax County man sentenced 10 years for 110-mph Duke Street crash that killed man
  3. Teen arrested for attempted carjacking on Duke Street
  4. Carjacking suspect arrested after midnight pursuit on King Street
  5. JUST IN: Police investigating shots fired incident near Braddock Road Metro station
  6. JUST IN: ACPS to announce new superintendent on Thursday
  7. Fundraiser established for family of the ACHS student who died this week
  8. Brothers want Tex-Mex restaurant ‘Dos Hermanos’ to open in Del Ray in June
  9. Mount Vernon Avenue closed near George Washington Middle School due to gas leak
  10. No arrest after shots fired in Landmark area Sunday morning
  11. Upcoming free tour explores the hidden history of Alexandria’s Parker-Gray neighborhood

Have a safe weekend!

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Notes: APD ‘determined’ to reduce crime near Braddock Road Metro after more shots fired

Good Friday morning, Alexandria!

🌥 Today’s weather: Cloudy. Mild. High of 69 and low of 51.
🌥 Tomorrow: Cloudy. Mild. High of 72 and low of 52. Sunrise at 6:05 am and sunset at 8:04 pm.

🚨 You need to know

More gunfire was reported near the Braddock Road Metro station yesterday afternoon, prompting the Alexandria Police Department to tweet that it’s “determined” to solve recent crime issues.

“APD has taken action by installing cameras and increasing police presence in the area to ensure everyone’s safety,” APD tweeted. “No one has been hurt, but we’re determined to prevent any potential harm by keeping a police presence there until we resolve this violence.”

Thursday’s incident occurred in the same block as a number of recent shootings. The city is experiencing a crime surge, and police are fighting it by increasing patrols in high-crime areas, installing mobile camera units and hosting community events.

📈 Thursday’s most read

The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for May 4, 2023.

  1. JUST IN: Police investigating shots fired incident near Braddock Road Metro station (1834 views)
  2. Fundraiser established for family of the ACHS student who died this week (1203 views)
  3. Notes: Alexandria driver killed in hit-and-run in D.C. | ALXnow (727 views)
  4. JUST IN: Melanie Kay-Wyatt announced as Alexandria City Public Schools superintendent (516 views)

🗞 Other local coverage

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on today and this weekend in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

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JUST IN: Melanie Kay-Wyatt announced as Alexandria City Public Schools superintendent

ACPS Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt speaks at an event for Noah and Josephus Lyles at Market Square, October 10, 2022. (staff photo by James Cullum)

Melanie Kay-Wyatt can take the “interim” off her job title: the School Board announced tonight (Thursday) that Kay-Wyatt will be the full superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS).

At the meeting, School Board leaders said the decision is a historic one and will hopefully break ACPS run of rapid superintendent turnover.

“This is the first Black woman to lead ACPS as a permanent superintendent,” said School Board Chair Meagan Alderton. “Thank you for dedicating yourself to Alexandria.”

Kay-Wyatt was chosen as interim superintendent in July 2022. School Board members noted that in interactions with Kay-Wyatt, she has always shown a willingness to step up to the plate and tackle any challenge.

School Board members noted that ACPS has been through several superintendents over the last ten years.

“We’ve been through so many superintendents through the last ten years,” said School Board member Jacinta Greene. “It’s been a lot. During the time you came in was a tumultuous time. We were a new board, we were getting to know each other, and you helped us come together as a board. Thank you so much for stepping up to the plate.”

Kay-Wyatt said this year has been difficult but she credited the school community with helping her transition into the role:

This is hard. You know my dedication to the school and to students. First of all, I would like to thank the School Board for selecting me to lead a division of diversity and commitment… It’s been a challenging school year. Thank you to the staff who supported me and our school community and students… I look forward to continuing the work that’s ahead of us, for our students, our staff and our greater community. It is truly an honor to serve as the first Black woman superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools. I’m very proud and I’m honored and thank you. Now it’s time to get to work.

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JUST IN: ACPS to announce new superintendent on Thursday

ACPS headquarters and clock (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The permanent superintendent of Alexandria City Public  Schools will be announced by the School Board on Thursday night, ACPS announced today.

While their identity has not been revealed, the successful candidate was chosen after a national search that started last November in consultation with Nebraska-based McPherson & Jacobson, L.L.C Executive Recruitment and Development, according to ACPS.

The announcement will be made at 6:30 p.m.

Alexandria’s 16,000 student-strong school system has been led by interim Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt since the beginning of this school year. Kay-Wyatt took over after the resignation of Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr., and she managed ACPS through post-pandemic educational issues, an increase in juvenile crime and the ACPS budget process.

Alexandria has seen more than a handful of superintendents over the last 15 years. Prior to Hutchings, Lois Berlin was the interim superintendent for a year. Berlin took the helm after the retirement of Superintendent Alvin Crawley, who had the job from 2013 to 2017. Crawley took over after Superintendent Morton Sherman, who led ACPS for five years after the departure of Superintendent Rebecca Perry in 2008.

“The Board wants the successful candidate to assume the responsibilities of the position on or before July 1, 2023,” according to the job posting by McPherson & Jacobson.

The closing date to apply for the position was in February and the School Board conducted interviews in March.

The qualifications for the position, according to the job posting, are below:

The candidate must have the background, skills, and abilities essential for excellence in educational leadership to include high expectations, being data driven and maintaining a culture of accountability throughout the division.

Experience as a superintendent or in a central office leadership position in a diverse, suburban/urban district to include classroom teaching experience is required.

Doctorate and Virginia Superintendent certification – or eligibility for it – are required as is a preference for living in the city of Alexandria.

The Board is seeking a candidate with the following desired characteristics:

  1. An educational leader with a proven track record of leading teams to implement equitable practices that result in improved academic achievement in a suburban/urban school division.
  2. A leader with experience in the successful development and implementation of a division-wide strategic plan with the understanding that the current plan must continue to be implemented with fidelity through 2025.
  3. A leader who builds consensus through collaboration resulting in trust and mutual respect throughout the division and the broader community.
  4. A steward of public resources with expertise in budget development, the ability to foster positive relationships with the city government officials and experience in carrying out capital projects.
  5. An effective communicator whose vision can be translated into practical terms for all stakeholders in the division and the broader community.
  6. A leader with the ability to identify staff’s potential and build capacity throughout the organization.
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Alexandria School Board seeking public input on significant elections changes

ACPS headquarters and clock (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria could be making significant changes to the way the School Board is elected, from staggered terms to breaking alignment with the standard election cycles.

A new survey suggests that School Board elections could be changed to staggered terms, meaning school board members are elected across different years rather than all at once.

Other proposals in the survey include increasing the length of terms from three years to four years to reduce the percentage of the Board that turns over every election cycle.

“This increases continuity of operations and consistency of direction to the superintendent and the school division,” the survey said. “It also reduces the frequency at which residents can elect new School Board members.”

The School Board is currently a nine-member board elected in three districts, but another change being considered would drop that to seven members with two representing each district and one at-large member. According to the survey:

The Board currently consists of nine members elected by three districts. Reducing the size of the board to seven members would result in two representatives from each district and one at-large member. For comparison, the Alexandria City Council has six members and a Mayor all of which are at-large representatives.

Finally, another consideration would be shifting School Board elections away from the federal and state-level election cycles — almost certainly decreasing the total number of votes in School Board elections. According to the survey:

Federal- and state-level elections typically have larger voter turnout and longer ballots. However, voters may not be informed on lower-ticket races due to the number of candidates on the ballot. Transitioning the School Board elections to match larger voter turnout elections could require increasing the terms to four years.

Staff noted in a presentation to the School Board that the change does not require approval through the General Assembly, only a change in the City Charter.

If approved, the first election under the new system would be in November 2024.

The full release from Alexandria City Public Schools is below:

The Alexandria City School Board is asking all stakeholders to participate in a survey about key issues affecting the structure of the School Board serving our community. This survey, available online in multiple languages, is open through 11:59 p.m. on April 26, 2023.

In recent months, the Board has embarked on a journey to reshape the School Board structure to better serve the needs of the school community. It has considered changes to Board member elections, including staggered terms, the length of terms and the number of Board members.

One major component that is under consideration, that will be different from what the community is accustomed to, is “staggered terms.” This is defined as an arrangement in which School Board members are elected in different years, starting and ending their terms of School Board service at different times, rather than all at the same time. Currently, all nine School Board members are elected during the same election in the same year, with their terms ending at the same time. Staggered terms would allow for members to be elected in different years, ensuring that the Board retains some of its members who have already been serving; this supports continuity and institutional knowledge. Additionally, it is easier to keep the division’s work intact while orienting new Board members to the division’s work.

The survey is available in five languages (English, Spanish, Amharic, Arabic and Dari.)

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Alexandria’s City Council and School Board clash in intense budget battle

The tense discussions between Alexandria’s City Council and School Board came to a head over Alexandria City High School’s Chance for Change Academy.

The joint work sessions are a chance for the school and city leaders to close the $7.5 million gap between the School Board’s $58.7 million request and the City Manager’s proposed $51.3 funding to the schools in the fiscal year 2024 Capital Improvement Program (CIP). But while both sides agreed relations between the two bodies are better than they’ve been in the past, the conversation still reopened old wounds between the two leadership teams.

Among the items discussed was $2 million in improvements to Chance for Change, listed on the Alexandria City Public Schools’ (ACPS) website as “a temporary placement for students whose matriculation in the traditional setting had been disrupted by various circumstances and also, based on a case-by-case basis.”

“I am not recommending we fund Ferdinand Day’s 5th and 6th-floor renovation. I’m not recommending the capacity for the [Chance for Change] lease space,” said City Manager Jim Parajon. “Those are two projects that are $7.5 million dollars. By my estimation, while they are important and needed, there are other considerations in the capital budget that we must do.”

Alicia Hart, chief of facilities and operations at ACPS, said the Chance for Change Academy cannot grow in the confines of its current space, citing a lack of Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, parking issues, and a lack of outdoor space.

“There’s been a lot of discussion about whether or not we can expand alternative education programs, we cannot do that in our current space,” said Hart. “Every project we put forward in the CIP, from a school standpoint, is a priority.”

The comment sparked an intense back-and-forth between City and ACPS leadership.

“Every project being a priority doesn’t work in a CIP that has to be sustained,” said Parajon. “The bottom line is we have to make choices. I have 20-something departments and everyone is a priority, but it doesn’t work that way. It’s really important that we start to readjust how we think about what is the highest priority: because that’s the thing that has to get funded.”

Parajon noted that the Chance for Change funding was not included in the previous CIP.

“I’m not debating the need, what I’m saying is when we sit down — this is where it has to be a common thought process — it has to be an urgent need when in 2025 we have the largest potential debt service we have to incur,” Parajon said. “We can’t just add to that because there’s no fiscal ability to manage that.”

Parajon and city leadership faced some rebuke from ACPS leaders who said the city wasn’t putting the needs of students first.

“What we’re talking about with Chance for Change is children’s lives and children’s educational needs,” said Interim Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt. “Pushing those down the road is going to further impact academic achievement and social-emotional growth, and I think that needs to be seen very differently than maybe another infrastructure like office space. We’re talking about children who are in need of services… Putting that off a year is going to further put them behind.”

School Board chair Meagan Alderton said that while not funding the expansion doesn’t mean the program will go away, it still keeps the program from being what ACPS has in mind.

“Is it going away if we don’t do something?” Alderton said. “I think the answer to that is no, not immediately. Is it meeting the needs for what we want Chance for Change to be? No, it doesn’t. I think it’s a two-sided question.”

But Alexandria City leadership stuck to Parajon and pointed the finger back at ACPS for ignoring the realities of budget crafting. According to Mayor Justin Wilson:

I’m inclined to agree with everything you said. The problem is I just heard it for the first time a couple minutes ago. [Kay-Wyatt] and I meet monthly… this has never been placed on the agenda. I’ve read through the entire operating proposal: there’s a couple glancing mentions of Chance for Change. I can’t even find on your website how many kids are at Chance for Change right now, and trust me I’ve searched and I know your website pretty darn well.

If there is a story to be told about alternative education and a change in policy and a different direction that requires significant capital investment: last time I checked I’m the Mayor of the city and I don’t know anything about it.

This is a conversation we need to have collectively and jointly before something just shows up in a CIP proposal and we’re told tonight horrible things are going to happen to kids if this proposal doesn’t get funded. That should not be the case and that says something is broken in the process.

The argument came at the end of a nearly three-hour meeting where City Council members repeatedly highlighted areas where there had been insufficient progress on long-term planning collaboration.

From ACPS having better access to the permitting facility to ACPS and City of Alexandria staff potentially sharing office space, City leaders said there are opportunities for greater efficiency that have been woefully underexplored. While ACPS staff said progress is being made, City Council members say it’s time to start seeing results.

“I’ve been around too long to say ‘we have the ability to wait,'” said City Council member John Chapman. “I’m very interested in seeing what we can get done in the next three months and the next six months.”

Chapman said that could involve more meetings or more retreats for City and ACPS leadership to hammer out issues together.

“I do think there are still opportunities for us to have bigger retreat-style conversations,” Chapman said. “We’ve tried that in the past and it’s worked. We need to build that in until we’re marching to the same beat. If we think about sports practice or band practice, if they’re not marching to the same beat, the band director is going to make them practice together, and that’s the way we have to look at it.”

At the end of the meeting, Alderton expressed concerns that the discussions between City leadership and the School Board have focused too much on bureaucracy and not enough on improving the quality of education for Alexandria’s student body:

What is being relayed here tonight — should it have been relayed sooner or later — is that that is a facility and only an example of one of many that is not meeting the actual needs of what we would like Chance for Change to be.

If we’re going to be candid, I think a lot of times we talk about a lot of things other than the actual education of the kids. Maybe a solution we need to get to is all of us, every single one of us, talking more about the education of the kids because we get bogged down in so many different things. If we don’t talk about that, I don’t know how that’s going to change. We get bogged down in facilities we get bogged down in philosophies, but we got to understand the educational needs of these kids and I will tear up right here because of it.

You know one thing I always say: what is the number one thing that the slave master wanted to keep away from the slave? A book. The ability to read. We have fought in this community about everything other than that. What I would say is: yes, let’s talk about all the things, but we gotta figure this out.

For Alexandria City Council members, though, the counterpoint is that bureaucracy is what holds the rest of the system together. According to Chapman:

I appreciate your words, I appreciate your passion: the focus has never changed.

The stark reality is: how we’ve been operating is not necessarily tenable into the near future. It’s not sustainable.

After this meeting, I need how to figure out how to fund what ACPS does, but also what DASH does, how to make sure we can have people of different incomes and different age groups in this community. I don’t want you or anyone to think I’m dismissing what you said. It’s powerful and it’s necessary… but I need to make sure that you have the resources… We’re not going to be able to build what we want without good planning and resources.

The FY 2024 budget is scheduled for adoption on May 3.

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Survey: Majority of Alexandria students, teachers and parents support metal detectors in schools

Advanced metal detectors will be used for a pilot program in two Alexandria City Public Schools locations as part of a pilot program (via ACPS)

A new survey shows widespread support for the installation of metal detectors within Alexandria City Public Schools.

There were 4,374 respondents to the survey, which ACPS opened on Feb. 24 and closed on March 8. Included in the survey were 1,181 students, 609 staff, 2,295 family/guardians, and 289 community members. About 85% of survey respondents supported using weapons screening equipment in all or some schools, and 58% of respondents want the metal detectors in every school.

The news comes as the Alexandria School Board on Thursday (March 16) will give final consideration to a pilot program to install metal detectors at the city’s middle schools and high school. If approved, the “advanced weapons abatement technology” will be installed next month in both Alexandria City High School campuses and at the city’s middle schools. The program would go live in May, before the end of the school year.

About 80% of respondents said they wanted the metal detectors to make the school system safer, and 72% reported that weapons entering schools are a significant concern/problem. About 65% of respondents also said that metal detectors crate a less anxious environment, and 49% said that the metal detectors are a much needed security upgrade for the school system. A majority of those against the proposal (59%) responded that the metal detectors detract from a welcoming feeling within schools, 32% were concerned with the cost of the equipment, 20% said weapons are not a significant problem, and 19% said that the current safety protocols are adequate.

There were 15 weapons-related incidents in the first two quarters of the 2022-2023 school year, and weapons seized include knives, brass knuckles, stun guns/tasers, a BB gun and pepper spray, according to a school safety report. ACPS began the school year last August with new security upgrades, like the installation of door alarms, upgraded security cameras, a new student ID process and a new visitor and emergency management system.

It costs $60,000 for every affixed metal detector, and $13,000 for mobile detectors, the latter of which would be used for outdoor athletic events and as-needed. The devices use artificial intelligence to detect weapons, while students, staff and guests can freely walk through them without emptying their pockets or bookbags in a lone line.

ACPS will need at least four units for Alexandria City High School’s King Street campus alone, and up to three units at the Minnie Howard campus, Alicia Hart, the ACPS chief of facilities and operations, told the Board last month. It was not clear how many will be needed for the city’s two middle school campuses.

The survey results are below.

Students:

  • 44% (519 students) want the metal detectors in all schools
  • 29% (337 students) only want metal detectors at the middle schools and high school
  • 28% (325 students) want no metal detectors

Staff:

  • 58% (356 staff members) want the metal detectors in all schools
  • 33% (198 staff members) only want metal detectors at the middle schools and high school
  • 9% (55 staff members) want no metal detectors

Family/Guardians:

  • 65% (1,484 family members/guardians) want the metal detectors in all schools
  • 25% (577 family members/guardians) only want metal detectors at the middle schools and high school
  • 10% (234 family members/guardians) want no metal detectors

Community members: 

  • 63% (182 community members) want the metal detectors in all schools
  • 20% (59 community members) only want metal detectors at the middle schools and high school
  • 17% (48 community members) want no metal detectors
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