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Good morning, Alexandria. It's Friday, May 8 — the 128th day of 2026, with 237 days left in the year.
The ACPS budget picture came into focus last night.
Superintendent Kay-Wyatt recommended closing the $5.6 million gap by eliminating 45.6 positions: 27 homeroom teachers, six kindergarten instructional assistants, social workers, psychologists, and the city's only middle school Latin teacher. The package also reduces raises included in the division's first collectively bargained agreement. "The hardest part of this presentation for me personally," Kay-Wyatt said. The board targets a June 11 vote.
In brighter news from the same meeting: the board unanimously approved the renegotiated police partnership agreement, sending the two-year MOU to City Council for final action. And Jefferson-Houston's Deedra Robinson was named ACPS Teacher of the Year, capping a 40-year career that reached classrooms in 47 states. George Washington Middle School's Jeanette Vinson was named Principal of the Year.
On tap this weekend: Four Mile Run kayak launch ribbon cutting, Del Ray House & Garden Tour, Croatian postage stamp exhibit, and more. Here's a full look at what's happening this weekend.
Here's what you need to know today: Have a great Friday!
~ Ryan
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1️⃣ Kay-Wyatt unveils $5.6M in ACPS budget cuts, eliminating 45.6 positions and reducing negotiated raises
Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt on Thursday recommended closing a $5.6 million budget gap by eliminating 45.6 positions and reducing the raises included in the school division's first collectively bargained agreement, calling the package "the hardest part of this presentation for me personally."
The recommended adjustments to Alexandria City Public Schools' FY 2027 combined funds budget — Kay-Wyatt's response to a city operating transfer that came in $5.6 million below what the school board had requested — would cut 27 homeroom teachers, six kindergarten instructional assistants, and 3.6 student support team positions, including social workers and psychologists. Two Afghan family liaison positions, two advanced academic services teachers, an English Learner teacher, and the city's only middle school Latin teacher are also on the list.
Read the full story: Kay-Wyatt unveils $5.6M in ACPS budget cuts, eliminating 45.6 positions and reducing negotiated raises
2️⃣ ACPS school board approves police partnership agreement, sending two-year deal to city for final action
The Alexandria City School Board on Thursday unanimously approved a renegotiated agreement governing the role of police officers in city schools, ending a year of revisions and extensions and sending the 2026-28 Memorandum of Understanding to the Alexandria Police Department and the City Council for final action.
The new MOU — formally the School-Law Enforcement Partnership Memorandum of Understanding — runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028. It governs the conduct of School Resource Officers stationed at Alexandria City High School and the city's two middle schools, covering procedures for information sharing, investigations, questioning of students, searches, arrests and physical interventions.
Read the full story: ACPS school board approves police partnership agreement, sending two-year deal to city for final action
3️⃣ Planning Commission backs Old Town Pool replacement, defers beekeeping rules
Forty years into a teaching career that has reached classrooms in 47 states, Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 IB School AVID instructor Deedra Robinson stood in front of the Alexandria City School Board on Thursday and accepted the 2026 ACPS Teacher of the Year award.
Robinson, who plans to retire at the end of this school year, was honored alongside Jeanette Vinson, principal of George Washington Middle School, who was named the 2026 ACPS Principal of the Year. The two were recognized at a Thursday evening ceremony that began with a reception upstairs at 1340 Braddock Place and continued on the floor of the school board meeting room, where building-level Teacher of the Year nominees from each ACPS school were also celebrated.
Read the full story: Jefferson-Houston's Deedra Robinson named ACPS Teacher of the Year, capping a 40-year career
4️⃣ Marks to take oath Tuesday; City Council to receive lone Torpedo Factory bid from Scout Urban
Sandy Marks will be sworn in to the Alexandria City Council at 6 p.m. Tuesday, taking the seat vacated in January by former Councilman R. Kirk McPike and giving the city its first female-majority council in its 279-year history.
Later in the meeting, the council will publicly receive what appears to be the only bid to take over operations at one of Alexandria's marquee cultural assets. According to a May 7 memo from Deputy City Manager Emily A. Baker, Scout Urban, LLC was the only firm to submit a timely proposal by the April 27 deadline to lease, manage, and operate the Torpedo Factory Arts Center at 105 Union St.
Read the full story: Marks to take oath Tuesday; City Council to receive lone Torpedo Factory bid from Scout Urban
5️⃣ Berlin Brun named Alexandria's 2026 Foster Parent of the Year
When the teenager in Berlin Brun's care was approaching her 15th birthday, Brun didn't settle for cake and candles. She researched, consulted with the child's family and pulled together a Quinceañera that honored the traditions of the teen's native country — a milestone the young woman wasn't sure she would ever have.
That moment, and the years of care behind it, helped earn Brun recognition as Alexandria's 2026 Foster Parent of the Year.
Read the full story: Berlin Brun named Alexandria's 2026 Foster Parent of the Year
📰 In brief
There may not be a quiet stretch of pavement left in the city. Here is a recap of the major road and transit projects happening right now, what's coming next, and what residents and drivers need to know. (The Brief)
Two Alexandria tourism efforts will share $40,000 in matching state grants announced Thursday by Gov. Abigail Spanberger. (The Brief)
A federal jury on Thursday convicted an Alexandria man of conspiring with his twin brother to delete approximately 96 federal government databases. (The Brief)
Drivers and bus riders along Richmond Highway should brace for two weeks of construction starting Monday, as the City of Alexandria begins maintenance work on the corridor's Bus Rapid Transit lanes. (The Brief)
The city's Board of Architectural Review on Wednesday voted 6-0 to approve a developer's plan to convert a 1960s commercial office building at 732 N. Washington St. into multi-unit apartments. (The Brief)
The Chamber ALX on Thursday named the public safety honorees for its 2026 Community Champions Honors. (The Brief)
Keibert Ruiz homered, doubled twice and drove in four runs to lift the Washington Nationals to a 7-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday. (The Brief)
D.C. United will host Ethiopia's national team in an international friendly at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 11, at Audi Field, the club announced Thursday. (The Brief)
President Donald Trump on Thursday went on an unannounced trip to the Lincoln Memorial to see the Reflecting Pool after he had it coated in a color he calls “American flag blue.” (The Brief)
President Donald Trump's proposal to put a coat of white paint on the exterior of a 19th-century historic landmark building next to the White House could cost taxpayers at least $7.5 million. (The Brief)
Federal employees who administer food stamps, school lunches and nutrition programs for pregnant women packed into a conference room in Alexandria this month to confront their bosses about a relocation they hoped would never come. (The Washington Post)
Today in Alexandria
⛅ Weather
Increasing clouds today, with a high near 72 degrees. Light west wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph.
Mostly cloudy tonight, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 54 degrees. South wind around 6 mph.
🌖 Sun, Moon, & Tide
Sunrise at 6:02 a.m., sunset at 8:08 p.m. 14 hours & 5 minutes of sun. High tide at 1:26 a.m. & 1:21 p.m. Low tide at 7:18 a.m. & 8:08 p.m. The moon phase is a Waning Gibbous.
🗓️ Things To Do
- 10 a.m.: Discover Croatia: A Journey Through Tiny Windows of History at Torpedo Factory
- 6:30 p.m.: Friday Night Run Club at Daniel O'Connell's
🎶 Entertainment
- 219 Restaurant: Kingpin at 9 p.m.
- Alexandria Bier Garden: The Spring Turtles at 9:30 p.m.
- Blackwall Hitch: Eric Tubbs at 9 p.m.
- Cuates Grill: Karaoke at 10:15 p.m.
- Daniel O'Connell's: Kenny Kohlhaas at 9:30 p.m.
- Del Ray Public House: Karaoke at 9 p.m.
- Epicure on King: Live music at 6:30 p.m.
- Galactic Panther: Time in the Wilderness, PsybhoPomP, and Blaudiss at 7:30 p.m.
- Hops N Shine: Adam Knudsen at 6 p.m.
- Laporta’s Restaurant: Live music at 7:30 p.m.
- Makeda Restaurant: Mesfin & Tsehay at 10 p.m.
- Murphy’s Pub: Powers & McLaughlin & Pat Garvey at 9 p.m.
- O’Shaughnessy’s Pub: The Moondaddies at 9 p.m.
- Pork Barrel BBQ: DM Shift Live at 8:30 p.m.
- Port City Brewing: Summer Music Series Kick Off with Too Much Feedback at 6 p.m.
- Rock It Grill: Karaoke at 9:30 p.m.
- St. Elmo's Del Ray: Poetry Reading at 7 p.m.
- The Birchmere: Vanessa Carlton at 7:30 p.m.
- The Light Horse: About Last Night Party Band at 9:30 p.m.
- The Study at Morrison House: Live Piano Music at 6:30 p.m.
🏛️ City of Alexandria
- 9 a.m.: Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region Conference - "Witnessing State Violence: Oral History and Liberatory Praxis" at Lyceum
- 10 a.m.: Croatian Postage Stamp Exhibit at Torpedo Factory Arts Center
- 6:30 p.m.: Grown-Up Field Trip: Archives - Black History Month 100th anniversary series at Alexandria Black History Museum
- (City of Alexandria calendar)
📚 Alexandria Library
- 10 a.m.: On the Move! American Migration Routes - From the Colonial Period to the Early Republic, Part 1 (Virtual)
- 10:10 a.m.: Baby Storytime at Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library
- (Alexandria Library calendar)
🏫 Alexandria City Public Schools
- No meetings are scheduled.
- (ACPS calendar) (ACHS Titans sports calendar)
Ryan Belmore
📜 Alexandria History
On May 9, 1809, President James Madison, just two months after his inaugural ceremonies, attended a social event at Caton’s Hotel (Gadsby’s Tavern) in Alexandria. This first year of Madison’s presidency was a prosperous time for America, and for Alexandria as well. At the time of his inauguration, the new nation had a financial surplus of $9,500,000, and in Alexandria new highways were constructed to connect with northward to Washington, and southward across Hunting Creek towards Richmond, which eventually became part of US Route 1.
On May 9, 1946, Alexandria resident John L. Lewis, President of the United Mine Workers, called a nationwide strike of soft coal mine workers nationwide, seeking increased wages, a new welfare fund, and improvements in sanitary and safety conditions at American mines. The strike was successful, and was settled within three weeks as the nation’s coal supply dwindled to record lows, causing damage to the nation’s economy.
The Alexandria Brief
Alexandria, Va., news and information you won't find anywhere else.
Publisher: Ryan Belmore, an Alexandria resident and journalist.
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Send feedback, story ideas, news, and tips to ryan@alexandriabrief.com.
