Kay-Wyatt proposes $406.5 million ACPS budget for FY 2027
Spending plan includes funding for first collectively bargained agreements; students, parents urge board to preserve language programs
Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt proposed a $406.5 million budget for fiscal year 2027 at Thursday’s School Board meeting, warning that limited city funding could force “difficult decisions, including potential reductions to programs and staff.”
The proposed operating budget of $374.5 million represents a 3.7% increase over the current fiscal year. According to the district, the plan focuses on ACPS’s first collectively bargained agreements with employee unions, staff recruitment and retention, and services for English Learners and students with disabilities.
“This budget is not just numbers on a page,” Kay-Wyatt told the board. “It represents people.”
The administration says the proposal aligns with budget priorities the School Board adopted in October, which emphasized recruitment and retention, academic excellence, student attendance, and redistricting implementation.
Cuts and tradeoffs
To close a funding gap, the budget eliminates 12.8 full-time positions—8.5 of them non-instructional and two from the superintendent’s leadership team, according to Kay-Wyatt’s presentation. The proposal also includes a 5% division-wide reduction in non-personnel spending.
Kay-Wyatt said the district has received guidance from the city that funding may be limited to a 1.5% increase.
“That level of funding presents a serious fiscal challenge for us,” she said. “It would mean a budget that cannot fully meet the needs of our school division.”
Without additional funding, Kay-Wyatt said, class sizes could increase, instructional assistant support could decrease, and low-enrolled dual language programs may be discontinued.
The budget also proposes shifting some world language courses from in-person instruction to an online format. Kay-Wyatt said enrollment data show several courses are “significantly under-enrolled,” but emphasized there would be “no reduction in course content.”
The proposal includes a new technology use fee to offset device replacement costs, which the district says run about $48,000 per month.
About 90% of the ACPS budget goes to personnel costs, Kay-Wyatt noted.
“When we invest in our people, we strengthen our schools,” she said. “And when we strengthen our schools, we invest in what matters most—our children’s tomorrow.”
Students pack meeting to defend Latin, Chinese
Before the budget presentation, more than 20 speakers—many of them middle schoolers—urged the board not to cut in-person Latin and Chinese language instruction at George Washington Middle School.
“Latin is my favorite subject in school and I look forward to it every day,” said Gracie, a seventh grader. “Please don’t take that away from us.”
Students praised their teachers and argued the languages provide academic benefits, from improved SAT scores to stronger vocabulary skills. Several noted that Latin and Chinese would still be available at private schools if cut from ACPS.
“If ACPS were to eliminate Latin, the only schools in the city that would offer it would be private schools,” Gracie said. “Latin should not be something only for people who can afford private schools.”
Nina Lee, a Chinese teacher at Hammond Middle School, told the board she had been informed her position would be eliminated at the end of the school year.
“I feel this is so unfair to the students and the community,” Lee said. “I think there may be many other ways to improve administrative efficiency to save money rather than impacting students’ education opportunity.”
Afghan families also spoke in support of continuing a liaison position at the International Academy, saying the role has been vital in helping students and families navigate the school system.
Closing a $15 million gap
The proposal comes as ACPS faces a projected $15.1 million shortfall. School officials told City Council in November they need $19.3 million to maintain current services but can expect only a $4.2 million increase from the city—a gap equivalent to roughly 120 positions.
The budget also arrives amid ongoing concerns about how Virginia funds public education. In an explainer published this week, board members Michelle Rief and Ashley Simpson Baird noted that Alexandria has the state’s maximum Local Composite Index, meaning the state assumes the city can cover roughly 80% of school costs locally.
As a result, only about 19% of ACPS operating funding comes from the state. In FY 2025, ACPS received $3,731 per student in state funding—the lowest of any school division in Virginia, compared to a statewide average of $6,978.
The formula treats Alexandria as uniformly wealthy, the board members wrote, even though more than half of ACPS students come from low-income families and 37% are English learners—the third-highest rate in the commonwealth.
A 2023 study by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission found that Virginia underfunds public education overall, spending about 14% less per student than the national average. The study also found Alexandria’s labor costs are 38% higher than the state average, but the state’s Cost of Competing Adjustment—meant to account for regional differences—has not been updated since 1995.
What’s next
The School Board will hold a public hearing on the budget Tuesday at 6 p.m., with a second work session scheduled for Jan. 29 if needed. The board is expected to approve its budget on Feb. 19, with final adoption scheduled for June 11.
Families can also attend a budget forum hosted by ACPS and the Alexandria PTA Council on Feb. 3 at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School, featuring small-group conversations with district staff. The forum runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at 1101 Janney’s Lane, with pizza at 6 p.m. Interpretation will be available in Amharic, Arabic, Dari, and Spanish. RSVP by Jan. 30 at www.acps.cc/ptacforum.
Budget context
The full budget timeline and a summary of this year’s budget process can be found on the ACPS FY27 Budget Web Page. The Jan. 22, 2026, School Board meeting, at which the Superintendent’s Proposed Budget was presented, will be available to view online.
The School Board approved a $395.2 million Combined Funds Budget for FY 2026, with the operating budget totaling $366.2 million. That budget included step increases and a 1% market rate adjustment for employees, additional English Learner teachers, and expanded Student Support Team staffing.
In December, the board approved a 10-year Capital Improvement Program budget of $282.3 million for fiscal years 2027-36.
ACPS serves more than 15,900 students from 118 countries who speak 127 languages.
This story is developing.