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The Alexandria Council of PTAs mobilized Thursday against City Manager James Parajon's proposed 1.5% increase for Alexandria City Public Schools, calling the funding level inadequate and urging families across the school division to submit public comments before the budget process advances.
PTAC, which represents all 17 school PTA units in Alexandria, posted a call to action on social media Thursday alongside Patrick Henry K-8 PTA and 14 other school units — a show of cross-division coordination that arrived less than 48 hours after Parajon unveiled his $977.3 million proposed FY 2027 budget.
The group's central argument is one of equity: non-collectively bargained city employees are receiving a step increase plus a 1.5% cost-of-living adjustment under the proposed budget, while ACPS's total operating increase is 1.5%. PTAC argues that figure cannot cover a comparable raise for school staff, let alone fund the division's first collectively bargained agreement with teachers, which is currently being negotiated.
"1.5% DOES NOT cover a step increase and 1.5% increase — which is what city employees are getting," PTAC wrote. "It WILL NOT cover the collective bargaining agreement being negotiated."
The school board unanimously adopted a $408.2 million budget request last week, calling for a 3.5% city appropriation increase — $9.8 million and $5.6 million more than Parajon proposed. Chair Michelle Rief warned the gap would force position cuts, larger class sizes, and difficulty retaining teachers in neighboring jurisdictions. The board may revisit its appropriation request in May once the city finalizes its budget.
Not everyone agrees more funding is warranted. ACPS enrollment fell 407 students last fall — a 2.5% decline and the largest single-year drop since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to data presented to the school board in December. Critics argue that with enrollment falling and the budget rising, the division is effectively receiving more per student than before. Defenders of the request note that a significant share of ACPS costs are fixed regardless of enrollment, and that the district serves a high-need population — 37.6% English Learners, 12.4% students with disabilities — whose costs don't diminish with headcount.
Parajon acknowledged the structural tension in his budget presentation Tuesday, noting that the state reimburses only $11.3 million of the $41.4 million cost of state-mandated positions — leaving a $30 million net subsidy from the city. More state support, he said, "will relieve some of the pressure on our budgets, including perhaps additional supports for our public school system."
PTAC urged families to submit comments at alexandriava.gov/budget and to contact the City Council directly. The city's first budget public hearing is on March 9 at 5:30 p.m. The council's add/delete deadline is April 9, and budget adoption is set for April 29.
