Alexandria School Board OKs Budget

Alexandria’s School Board on Thursday night adopted the fiscal year 2012 budget including operating fund revenues and expenditures of $210.4 million.

The amount is a 4 percent increase in revenue and a 7.2 percent increase in total expenditures over FY11.

“This budget continues to demonstrate creativity and fiscal responsibility,” said Board Chairman Yvonne Folkerts. “Our students may not appreciate the details of this budget, but they are the direct beneficiaries of our deliberations.”

Several board members expressed their gratitude for the collegial budget process and thanked Superintendent Morton Sherman for his patience and leadership.

“It’s almost spiritual to do the kind of work that we do,” Sherman said. “This budget is a foundation – a roadmap – for the important work that lies ahead of us.”

The budget includes class size caps of 20 for kindergarten, 22 for the first and second grades and 24 for grades three through five. It also includes additional staffing to aid English Language Learners in middle school.

A salary increase for some employees is also included with additional pay for longer workdays for about 80 percent of Alexandria City Public School employees.

After much deliberation throughout the year, two school days will be added onto the school calendar and teachers will spend an additional 21 hours on professional learning and planning.

The budget also includes requests for providing fresh fruits and vegetables as snacks at all elementary schools. That initiative currently has been running as a pilot project at Jefferson Houston School.

The School Board on Thursday evening also set the kindergarten-prep program and elementary school summer school programs for Aug. 1 through Aug. 12.

Alexandria's City Council allocates funds for the ACPS. The School Board and City Council plan to meet again Mar. 30 to further discuss budget issues.

In a separate comment at the Thursday night meeting, board member Charles Wilson pointed out that state taxes allow taxpayers to donate to school districts on the tax form. However, the City of Alexandria is not included in that list.

“We need to do something so we can receive donations,” he said.