Approved ACPS Capital Budget Includes Vision For K-8 School Changes, PTA Responds

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The Alexandria City School Board's choice to reconfigure two K-8 schools factored into the latest capital budget for Alexandria City Public Schools.

On Thursday, the Alexandria City School Board has approved the 10-year Capital Improvement Program budget. The budget for 2026-2035 totals $346,037,800 and includes maintaining funding levels for non-capacity needs.

"This approved budget reflects our commitment to prioritizing equitable opportunities, fostering supportive learning environments, and aligning our initiatives with the district’s strategic goals," said Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt in a statement.

The School Board has been considering options for reconfiguring K-8 schools based on an analysis of capacity needs. Along with the capital budget approval, the School Board voted to recommend a plan to transition Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 IB School into a middle school and Patrick Henry K-8 School into an elementary school. The capital budget includes funding for the plan, with $2.7 million earmarked for design, project management and other costs for Jefferson Houston in fiscal year 2030. Construction funds totaling $27.5 million would follow in fiscal year 2032. At Patrick Henry School, $858,000 in design and project management funds are scheduled for fiscal year 2031, and $8.6 million in construction funds are scheduled for 2032.

In an email to families, the Jefferson Houston Pre K-8 School PTA criticized the decision to eliminate the elementary part of the school. The organization said there was a lack of communication with Jefferson-Houston families about the sudden vote.

"This vote disregarded the principles of community engagement and transparency that they promised to uphold," the PTA shared. "While we are deeply disappointed by this decision, we want to take a moment to thank school board members Jacinta Greene and Abdel Elnoubi for standing with our community and dissenting against this proposal."

The PTA said Alexandria City Council must review the proposal to convert Jefferson-Houston into a middle school. City Council will have Greene and Elnoubi as incoming members in 2025.

The capital budget also plans for the next school modernization project — Cora Kelly School for Math, Science and Technology. The Cora Kelly School renovation project will add capacity for another 291 students with a goal of opening in fiscal year 2032.

Other key parts of the capital budget are projects to improve middle school capacity, investments for updated curriculum materials and textbooks, upgrades to SmartBoard technology in various schools, and elevator modernizations in multiple facilities.

While the School Board approves capital projects for the budget, funding is provided by Alexandria city government through City Council's budget process. For the latest capital budget, ACPS 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.