ACPS Superintendent Unveils FY13 Budget Preview

Alexandria’s public school superintendent on Thursday previewed his budget proposal for fiscal 2013, calling for “significant programmatic changes” and asking the School Board to free $1.2 million from its Virginia Retirement System set-aside funds.

“We are proposing to spend less money per student with a sharp focus on our core mission,” said ACPS Superintendent Mort Sherman. “Our operating fund expenditures per student will continue to decline…However, the cost of doing business will continue to rise.”

Sherman’s efforts to streamline includes eliminating most elementary and secondary summer learning except for programs such as K-Prep and English Language Learners. It also would nix non-essential travel in most school and department budgets.

His FY13 budget would outsource security monitor and custodial services positions through attrition.

He would reduce partnership funding and ask each community partner to submit a proposal outlining how its services would improve student achievement.

“We have spent $700,000 on 100 partners,” Sherman told the board. “They need to show us how they will accomplish learning for our students before we grant money."

The budget also recommends that current modified calendar schools will continue on their modified schedule but reduced from five to three weeks.

Sherman said he thinks intersession “is great,” he’s for more school days in the year and supports more professional learning time but “there’s reality."

Modified calendar schools “have had a huge gift. All schools deserve that gift,” he said. “We would like to provide five or six intersession weeks—and not call them intersession because they are deeply connected—but you can’t afford all that.”

He said all other schools would have the opportunity to make necessary systemic changes, allowing them to submit proposals to extend their school day or year. Those schools applying for funds and wishing to operate on a modified calendar would pursue a two to three-year phased approach to implementation.

Additionally, he is proposing three additional days for professional learning, maintaining pre-kindergarten funding set in the FY12 budget and said he’d push strongly to continue the current class size ratios. He also wants to offer salary increases to eligible staff and to expand online learning opportunities, among other things.

The city has given us a budget target that will be difficult to meet, he said, adding that those numbers would be discussed on Jan. 19 when he makes his formal budget presentation to the board.

If the School Board OK’s Sherman’s request to take $1.2 million from its VRS set-aside funds, $2.7 million would be left in that pot, which Sherman said “is sufficient funding for the next two fiscal years beyond FY2013.”

As a result of the governor’s recent proposed changes to VRS rates, ACPS likely will have to absorb an additional $9 million in FY13 and Sherman said his plan reduces expenditures for that except for the $1.2 million.

“Our School Board and council will have some interesting conversations,” Sherman said.