School Board | ALXnow

Superintendent Unveils Fiscal Year 2021 Combined Funds Budget

Published January 10, 2020 at 11:45AM | Updated February 5, 2020 at 2:02AM

Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Gregory Hutchings released his $299 million fiscal year 2021 Combined Funds Budget on Thursday night, a 4.4% increase over last year’s budget.

The draft budget is nearly 500 pages, and includes increases to the Virginia Retirement System, a step increase of 2.63% for a majority of staff, a one-time bonus for those ineligible for a step increase and a market rate adjustment to counter rising health care costs. Hutchings is asking the city for $9.7 million, or 4.2% more than last year’s approved budget.

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School Board to Receive Budget, Discuss High School Project at Upcoming Meeting

By James Cullum

Published January 6, 2020 at 10:45AM

The superintendent’s leadership reorganization, the fiscal year 2021 combined funds budget — as well as the reelection of the Alexandria School Board Chair and Vice Chair — are just a few of the items on the docket for Thursday, Jan. 9.

The ACPS budget process began in September and will conclude in May in coordination with the passage of the City budget. Additionally, the 2021-2030 Capital Improvement Budget was approved in November, and the Combined Funds budget priorities include:

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Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published December 23, 2019 at 6:00AM

Financing for Wegmans Development — “The developers behind Carlyle Crossing, the Wegmans-anchored mixed-use development going up near the Eisenhower Avenue Metro station in Alexandria, have lined up $253 million in financing for the project. ” [Washington Business Journal]

Five-Year-Old Found Wandering in Cold — “Authorities in Alexandria say a young child who was found out in the cold early Friday will be reunited with her mother… The 5-year-old was found near a Taco Bell location at the intersection of South Van Dorn Street and Edsall Road before 4 a.m.” [Fox 5]

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Economic Status Plays Critical Role in Success in Alexandria Schools

By Vernon Miles

Published December 20, 2019 at 10:45AM

Nearly 80% of all absent students in Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) were economically disadvantaged, and economically disadvantaged students represented 90% of students with out-of-school suspensions.

As the start of a long path to achieving equity in the schools, the School Board took a look at the sometimes startling figures behind who is being left behind in the current school system. The Board reviewed the data on suspensions, absenteeism, graduation rates and more at a work session on Tuesday (Dec. 17).

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T.C. Williams High School Gears Up for Stadium Upgrades Next Year

By Vernon Miles

Published December 10, 2019 at 10:45AM

The Parker-Gray Memorial Stadium at T.C. Williams High School is falling apart, but a long-discussed renovation project is primed to start taking shape early next year.

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) laid out a timeline for the upcoming improvements at a School Board meeting on Dec. 5. Staff said potential contractors will be invited to bid in January, with approval of a deal for the work set for March. After that, staff said work is expected to take place over the course of that spring and summer.

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Alexandria Public Schools Introduce New Feedback Guidelines and Directory

By Vernon Miles

Published December 6, 2019 at 10:30AM

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) is overhauling its feedback process system-wide to make sure parents know who to turn to if they are having trouble getting their concerns addressed.

In the past, parents at several schools have spoken at School Board meetings and expressed concerns that they weren’t being heard. Parents at George Washington Middle School said at a recent School Board meeting that they felt they weren’t being heard over concerns about the modernization of the school and fire safety — though school officials at the meeting did address the repairs made to the fire system in the school.

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Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published December 2, 2019 at 6:30AM

Big Tree Falls Hard on Russell Road — “Tracey Cain was in Ohio visiting family when her husband Patrick McLaughlin called from their home at 2912 Russell Road this morning at 3 am. ‘The big tree in the front yard just fell down. It’s blocking the whole road. It’s pulled down a power line, and now it looks like no Thanksgiving for Russell Road,’ was the news.” [Zebra]

School Board Shrinking? — “The Alexandria City School Board is considering decreasing the number of members on the board and increasing the length of the terms they serve. A majority of school board members said they were in favor of these changes at a school board work session on Nov. 14.” [Alexandria Times]

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Flood Mitigation on Tap for Alexandria Schools, Hammond Middle in Line for Upgrades

By Vernon Miles

Published November 18, 2019 at 10:35AM

Alexandria City Public Schools has some big projects on its plate, but at a School Board meeting last Thursday, many of the smaller projects discussed could have a big impact on the schools.

The meeting discussed the top priorities for non-capacity improvements next year. While several schools are slated for sweeping modernization projects over the next ten years, the Capital Improvement Program upgrades could provide some stop-gap improvements in the meantime.

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Alexandria Schools Roll Out Ten Year Plan With a Sizable Price Tag

By Vernon Miles

Published November 13, 2019 at 9:30AM

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) officials have laid out their ten-year plan to modernize the schools, and the work has already started on easing the sticker-shock that comes with it.

At a meeting on Thursday, Nov. 7, Superintendent Gregory Hutchings walked the School Board through the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The CIP includes plans to spend $530 million over the next ten years on capital improvement projects, primarily focused on modernization and additions for schools.

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School Board Works to Keep One T.C. Plan from Splitting in Two

By Vernon Miles

Published October 30, 2019 at 9:30AM

School officials are trying to ensure that early plans to expand T.C. Williams High School don’t result in increasing the inequities the plan was designed to thwart.

On Sept. 26, the School Board voted not to build a second high school, but to transform T.C. Williams High School as a campus with an expanded Minnie Howard satellite location a few blocks away. As the schools move into the earliest phases of developing what that expansion looks like, School Board members and school officials at a meeting last week expressed concerns that the current plan to add new facilities to Minnie Howard campus could result in students receiving unequal access to better educational opportunities — one of the chief criticisms of the two high school plan.

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School Staff Recommends New Measures to Ease Traffic Concerns at Seminary Hill School Project

By Vernon Miles

Published October 28, 2019 at 4:35PM | Updated October 31, 2019 at 3:05PM

(Updated 10/31/19) Alexandria City Public Schools are moving forward with plans to use Patrick Henry Elementary School as swing space with some new aspects that aim to ease concerns about traffic

By September 2020, ACPS plans to have to schools open on the lot where the former Patrick Henry Elementary School currently sits (4643 Taney Lane). The plan use the former Patrick Henry building for Douglas MacArthur students while the Douglas MacArthur school is under construction, with the new temporary school called Douglas MacArthur on Taney Avenue. The school will remain there until the new Douglas MacArthur opens in 2023.