ACPS Budget: What Changed Tuesday, and Why It Matters
- 11 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Authored by: Kelly Carmichael Booz (District B), Dr. Michelle Rief, Chair (District A), and Alexander Scioscia (District B)
Unanimously co-signed by the entire Board: Abdulahi Abdalla (District C), Dr. Ashley Simpson Baird (District B), Tim Beaty (District A), Christopher Harris, Vice Chair (District C), Dr. Donna Kenley (District C), Ryan Reyna (District A)
If you watched Tuesday night's add/delete work session, or heard about it afterward, and came away frustrated or confused, we understand. We were too. Board members came into that meeting with several proposals focused on staff compensation and meeting the terms of the original tentative collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Most of those proposals were withdrawn before a single thumbs-up or thumbs-down to indicate support for an amendment. The community deserves a straight explanation of why, and that is what this post is.
We write as members of the School Board, and we want to be clear up front about the most important thing: those compensation proposals were not for show. We wanted those changes to happen. What changed on Tuesday was not the Board's commitment to our staff. It was our understanding of what the law and our own commitments allow us to do, and when.
What changed on Tuesday
This is the first budget cycle in ACPS history to be conducted while ACPS is negotiating a collective bargaining agreement, and it is a new process for both Board members and staff. It is obviously not ideal to adjust our add/delete process at this stage, but the Board was made aware that making proposals regarding compensation without consulting the Education Association of Alexandria (EAA) may not be consistent with the terms of the ACPS Collective Bargaining Resolution.
When this Board adopted its Collective Bargaining Resolution (CBR) on March 21, 2024, we gave our employees the right to negotiate wages and benefits through their exclusive representative. That means the Board gave up the power to set compensation unilaterally. Not just the power to cut pay on our own. The power to set it, in either direction.
Even a raise, adopted unilaterally, would not allow ACPS employees the right to negotiate that they are entitled to under the CBR. For example, the Board might add a COLA when employees, through their union, would prefer a step increase, a retroactive step increase, or something else entirely. That choice belongs at the bargaining table, which protects our employees and binds us because we have committed to honoring it.
This interpretation did not go unchallenged Tuesday night. Board members, including those who helped draft the resolution, pressed staff on the interpretation, and the Board debated it in real time. In the end, the Board chose the path that honors the bargaining relationship.
About the timing
We won't pretend the timing was acceptable. It wasn't. Board members built compensation proposals in good faith over the preceding weeks, and learning on the day of the add/delete work session that those proposals could not move forward was frustrating for us and for those watching. This is what a first-ever cycle looks like when a new bargaining process and a long-established budget calendar collide. We are committed to fixing that sequencing for next year.
What is actually in the final ACPS budget
Tuesday was not for nothing. Because the Board is legally required to adopt a balanced budget, every dollar added must be matched by a dollar deleted. Here is what the Board agreed to:
Added:
Both Afghan Family Liaison positions, one at Francis C. Hammond Middle School, one at the high school, were restored at their actual cost of $150,600 through the Superintendent's own adjustment. These positions serve the fastest-growing population of English-language (EL) students in ACPS and connect their families to community services after federal grant funding lapsed.
One itinerant Advanced Academic Services teacher, $147,200.
$83,800 toward the Communities In Schools contract, with the City Council signaling interest in helping close the remaining gap using projected fee revenue once it can verify those funds in September. Staff confirmed that CIS can scale services to the available funding rather than end the program.
An independent benchmarking study of central office staffing by an outside national consultant was approved unanimously and funded from the School Board's budget. The study will compare how ACPS organizes and staffs its central office with those of similar school divisions across the country, giving the Board, our community, and the incoming superintendent a shared, independent analysis for future budget and organizational decisions.
Deleted to pay for it:
$113,000 from the School Board's management services account and $37,600 from division-wide travel, funding the Afghan liaisons.
One vacant Technology Services position, approximately $104,000.
$30,000 in membership dues, $57,000 in contracted and purchased services, and $40,000 in additional travel.
The net change to the bottom line is zero, because at this stage of the process, it legally must be.
What this means for staff pay
The final budget the Board is set to adopt on Thursday contains the compensation package from the tentative agreement reached after the City's appropriation. This includes:
A 1.25% COLA
A step increase for eligible staff
A new top step
The original tentative agreement, negotiated over the course of this school year, was stronger, and the Board was proud of it. Do we wish we could fund the original tentative agreement? Absolutely. However, the package in Thursday's budget is what we can fund with the City Council appropriation, and any improvement or changes to it will be negotiated with the EAA.
If state money arrives
The state budget has not yet been adopted for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2026. The House of Delegates reconvenes June 18, and the Senate June 22, and ACPS could receive anywhere from zero to roughly $3.1 million in additional funding. The Board signaled clearly Tuesday night that if that money comes, the priorities are compensation first, then closing the CIS gap, then revisiting positions and stipends.
Additional compensation must be bargained with the EAA. The Board cannot unilaterally provide a bonus any more than it can unilaterally raise a pay scale. Staff's recommendation is that new state money go to compensation as a one-time payment rather than a permanent increase because a recurring raise built on one-time money must be funded the following year, and if that money isn't there, the result is deeper cuts.
What we owe you from here
The School Board remains committed to getting a collective bargaining agreement across the finish line. We adopted collective bargaining because we believe our staff deserves a real seat at the table.
On Tuesday night, the Board chose to respect the collective bargaining process rather than circumvent it. The work now is to reach an agreement, continue advocating for our school division's needs, and keep providing transparent and candid updates, even when they’re difficult.
