School Board | ALXnow

Alexandria schools take lion’s share of planned tax rate increase, but it’s still less than School Board hoped

Published April 26, 2024 at 11:05AM | Updated April 26, 2024 at 11:27AM

The first day at school at George Mason Elementary School, Aug. 21, 2023 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) is the biggest winner of a 2.5 cent tax rate increase being considered by City Council, but it still falls short of the budget voted on by the School Board.

The School Board voted earlier this year to request $384.4 million from the City Council — $21 million more than previous budgets and double the budget proposed by Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt. Mayor Justin Wilson previously said that fulfilling that budget request would require an unprecedented 6-cent tax increase.

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Alexandria School Board Member Tim Beaty just won a special election and says he’s running for reelection

By James Cullum

Published April 11, 2024 at 3:30PM | Updated April 11, 2024 at 4:45PM

Tim Beaty is the new District A School Board member (via ACPS)

Alexandria School Board Member Tim Beaty just won his special election in January, and now he tells us that he’s running for reelection in November.

Beaty won a special election on Jan. 9 to fill the District A seat vacated by former School Board Member Willie Bailey. He was sworn in days later, and said he would spend the next several months learning the intricacies of Alexandria City Public Schools before deciding on whether to run for reelection on Nov. 5.

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Jefferson-Houston Elementary School administrators put on leave after autistic 4-year-old walked away from school

By James Cullum

Published April 9, 2024 at 4:11PM | Updated April 9, 2024 at 4:46PM

Brianna Davis-Suggs was reunited with her daughter, four-year-old Riley, who walked away from Jefferson Houston Elementary School on March 19, 2024 (courtesy photo)

A four-year-old student with autism walked away from Jefferson-Houston Elementary School in Old Town last month and was found barefoot in the middle the street by a school bus driver near the King Street Metro station.

A number of school officials were consequently placed on administrative leave by Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt.

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Abdel Elnoubi says his Alexandria City Council campaign is a ‘tale of two cities’

By James Cullum

Published April 4, 2024 at 10:45AM | Updated April 5, 2024 at 2:40AM

Alexandria School Board Member Abdel Elnoubi at the George Washington Birthday Parade in Old Town, Feb. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Council candidate Abdel Elnoubi has been making legislative waves recently as a member of the School Board, and says residents should expect the same kind of results if he gets elected.

Elnoubi is one of 11 Democrats running to fill six seats on City Council, including four incumbent Council members running for reelection in the Democratic primary on June 18. The field also includes Jacinta Greene, a fellow School Board Member.

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ACPS reaches ‘milestone moment’ with passage of collective bargaining resolution

By James Cullum

Published March 22, 2024 at 11:00AM

School buses preparing at Alexandria City High School (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria School Board unanimously approved a collective bargaining resolution Thursday night, setting the ground rules for how the school system will negotiate with staff on wages and benefits.

Dawn Lucas, president of the Education Association of Alexandria, was pleased with a number of changes that she recommended the Board make to the proposed resolution.

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Alexandria City High School teacher Eva Irwin wins $25,000 Milken Educator Award

By James Cullum

Published March 19, 2024 at 3:45PM

Alexandria City High School teacher Eva Irwin wins the $25,000 Milken Educator Award, March 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City High School English teacher Eva Irwin was at a loss for words when her name was called and the packed gymnasium erupted in applause.

This afternoon at a school assembly, Irwin was recognized as a top-tier teacher and surprised with the $25,000 Milken Educator Award.

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PHOTOS: Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard Campus nears ‘substantial completion’

By James Cullum

Published March 18, 2024 at 2:45PM

The swimming pool at Alexandria City High School's Minnie Howard Campus (via ACPS)

The final touches are being made to Alexandria City High School’s expansion of its Minnie Howard Campus.

The five-story, $174 million high school project is on-budget and on-track for “substantial completion this spring,” according to an Alexandria City Public School staff report that will be presented to the School Board on Thursday.

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Alexandria School Board makes big changes to proposed collective bargaining resolution

By James Cullum

Published March 15, 2024 at 2:45PM | Updated March 15, 2024 at 8:40PM

The Alexandria School Board discusses collective bargaining in their work session on Thursday, March 14, 2024 (via ACPS)

The Alexandria School Board made significant changes to its proposed collective bargaining agreement resolution with staff on Thursday night.

In a work session that ran until nearly midnight, the Board amended the 17-page draft resolution, which sets the rules for negotiations on a three-year agreement. The draft resolution reveals a slow rollout for the Alexandria City Public Schools bargaining process that will only reach full fruition in future negotiations, with the school system currently focusing on reaching an eventual collective bargaining agreement on six yet-to-be-determined topics with a portion of employees.

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Alexandria School Board goes all-in asking City Council to approve massive tax increase

By James Cullum

Published March 7, 2024 at 9:30AM | Updated March 11, 2024 at 8:10PM

The joint City Council/School Board budget work session on March 6, 2024 (via City of Alexandria)

Alexandria School Board Members went all-in Wednesday night in asking City Council to fund its budget by approving a massive tax increase.

Mayor Justin Wilson told the Board at a budget work session on Wednesday night that its fiscal year 2025 $384.4 million combined funds budget request would result in a historic tax increase. The Board, in turn, said that the funding could stem the school system’s staffing crisis.

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Potomac Yard arena boils down to four issues, says Alexandria mayoral candidate Alyia Gaskins

By James Cullum

Published March 6, 2024 at 2:50PM | Updated March 6, 2024 at 5:39PM

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

ALXnow will be running a series of City Council candidate interviews through the local election filing deadline on April 4.

The economic potential for the $2 billion Potomac Yard arena deal is maintaining the interest of Alexandria City Council Member Alyia Gaskins.

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Alexandria Mayor lights into School Board over long term planning and funding

By Vernon Miles

Published February 29, 2024 at 2:55PM

Mayor Justin Wilson (left) and School Board Chair Michelle Rief (right) (image via ACPS)

As Alexandria’s City Council and School Board work to reconcile their budgets, Mayor Justin Wilson scolded School Board leadership for not taking a longer view of budgets and planning.

Alexandria’s School Board is asking for $21 million more than it received in the previous budget — for a total of $384.4 million — with School Board members adding $10 million in additions to Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt’s proposed budget. City Manager Jim Parajon fully funded the Superintendent’s budget, but did not include funding for the additional $11 million requested by the School Board.