Alexandria Schools Capital Budget Includes Planning For Pre-K 8 Restructuring

ALEXANDRIA, VA — In the first step of the next Alexandria City Public Schools budget process, Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt presented the 10-year capital budget proposal. One notable item is planning for a potential restructuring of the PreK-8 schools.

The 2026-2035 Capital Improvement Program Budget, if approved, will total $341,011,900. Years two to 10 of the budget include school capacity projects such as the Cora Kelly School for Math, Science and Technology renovation. In addition, the budget plans for the potential conversion of Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 IB School into a middle school and Patrick Henry K-8 School into an elementary school.

"This proposed budget underscores our commitment to creating safer, more supportive and modern learning environments, aligning the CIP with our focus on the K-8 model and ongoing redistricting efforts," said Kay-Wyatt in a statement.

The planning for potential PreK-8 restructuring comes after an analysis showed enrollment projections and other impacts of different scenarios for Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 IB School and Patrick Henry K-8 School.

A community survey completed after the analysis with 540 respondents found the most — 143 — support keeping the school grade structures the same with improvements. Another 73 chose a model turning Patrick Henry & Jefferson-Houston into PreK/K-5 schools and opening a new middle school at 1703 Beauregard Street. The third-highest choice with 55 respondents was keeping Patrick Henry & Jefferson-Houston as PreK/K-8 schools, adding a new middle school and using the 1703 Beauregard Street building to expand K-5 capacity. Common concerns shared by respondents were growing enrollment at the middle schools, Patrick Henry School being close to capacity and overcrowding at K-5 schools.

The school board has not made a final decision on the K-8 restructuring. A presentation to the school board indicated the survey results may not reflect the final model.

New community meetings following the survey will be held on virtually Wednesday, Nov. 20, and Thursday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m.

Other components of the proposed ACPS capital budget include $105 million for the Cora Kelly School design, construction and other costs; academic materials and textbook investments, upgraded SmartBoard technology, upgraded elevators and more.

The Alexandria School Board typically approves capital projects for the budget. Funding for the ACPS capital program is funded by Alexandria city government through City Council's budget process. For the latest capital budget, ACPS has received guidance from the City of Alexandria to keep 2026-2035 amounts at existing or lower levels and move the transportation facility planning from fiscal year 2026 to 2030. The other budget for ACPS is the combined funds budget — operating, grants and special projects and school nutrition funds.

The school board will hold a public hearing on the capital budget on Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. Residents can share input in person or virtually during the public hearing. Final approval is planned on Dec. 19.