What would your top four priorities be out of the approved School Board budget priorities listed below?
How would you resolve the secondary capacity issues?
The budget process for the 2017-18 school year is underway. This week, the School Board approved their budget priorities for the 2017-18 school year. Now is the time to consider questions such as the ones above and let your voice be heard at the Budget Forum on Thursday, October 6.
- Core Achievement: Literacy, math, science, social studies, writing and World Language
- Student Services: Specialized instruction; English Learners; Talented and Gifted/Honors support/opportunities for acceleration; student, family and community engagement; student health and wellness
- Targeted Intervention: Gap group achievement; alternative education programming; substance abuse prevention and intervention services
- Recruitment, Training and Retention: Effective recruitment; creative retention strategies; leadership development/succession planning; and cultural competency training
- Operational Effectiveness: Revenue, grants and development; communications; optimal and equitable learning environments; redistricting
Tell Us YOUR Top Priorities at the
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What You Need to Know About the ACPS Budget
- ACPS is required by law to operate within a balanced budget.
Because of this, the Operating Fund budget is purposefully conservative its projections of revenue and expenditures. This helps the school division end the year with an available balance, which is typical of other school divisions, as well as local and state governments. ACPS retains this balance to pay for the carryover of orders of goods and services that have not been received as of the end of the fiscal year and to support next year’s budget. This amount is currently limited to no more than two percent of proposed operating expenditures. The remainder is held as a cushion against extraordinary circumstances that might cause significant, one-time increases in expenditures. - The final budget is informed by ACPS 2020 strategic plan—the roadmap that guides the division’s decision-making for the next five years.
The plan was developed with significant input from stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers and other staff and members of the Alexandria community. The plan was approved by the School Board reflects the educational landscape, the specific needs of the school division and the aspirations of the Alexandria community. - The City of Alexandria is the primary source of the school division’s operating funds.
The Commonwealth of Virginia views Alexandria as a wealthy community in comparison to other jurisdictions. When the State determines the amount of funding it will provide to ACPS, it takes into consideration this wealth factor and adjusts allocations down, based on the calculation of financial resources available in the City. As a result, the State provides ACPS with less on a per-pupil basis than other school division in Northern Virginia.
What Does This Mean for You?
The more you know about the budget and the budget process, the better equipped you will be to advocate for our schools. We are counting on you to use this knowledge to be an active participant in the process. There are many ways to participate:
- Join us at the Budget Forum on Thursday, October 6 at 7 p.m. in the Rotunda at T.C. Williams
- Speak at one of the scheduled Budget Public Hearings during School Board meetings
- Send your comments to us through the ACPS website
- Email the Superintendent at superintendent@acps.k12.va.us
- Join the School Board’s Budget Advisory Committee
- Contact your school’s PTA president and/or EAA representative with questions/comments