Superintendent's Proposed Capital Budget To Address Alexandria School Capacity

ALEXANDRIA, VA — On Thursday, the superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools proposed a capital budget seeking to address school capacity challenges.

Superintendent Gregory Hutchings Jr. presented the proposal to the Alexandria School Board on Thursday. The $495,004,800 Capital Improvement Plan proposal for the next 10 years (fiscal years 2023-2032) includes funding for four key projects: school replacements at Alexandria City High School's Minnie Howard campus, George Mason Elementary School and Cora Kelly School for Technology and Math, as well as a renovation project at the newly purchased office building at 1703 N. Beauregard Street.

"We are pleased to present this proposal for an FY 2023-32 capital improvement budget to the School Board," stated said Superintendent Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr. "It is vital that we plan ahead and ensure that the infrastructure of Alexandria City Public Schools meets our capacity needs and provides our students with learning environments that allow them to thrive in school."

The proposed CIP is about $56 million less than the less than the approved CIP for fiscal years 2022-2031. An ACPS news release attributed the lower proposal to the school board's decision to purchase and renovate the 1703 N. Beauregard Street office building instead of planning to construct a new school.

The focus on school capacity is due to an ACPS projection that enrollment will increase between 1,500 and 2,000 students in the next decade. As of Sept. 30, 2021, the ACPS enrollment is 15,477.

One of the projects already being planned to address capacity is the High School Project. The school board opted to add on to the Alexandria City High School's Minnie Howard campus to address projected enrollment increases at the high school level. The latest CIP budget proposal includes a $12.5 million funding request after City Council approved an aquatic facility for the High School Project. Construction for the High School Project is expected to begin in 2022.

The CIP includes funding for complete replacement of George Mason Elementary and Cora Kelly School. Funding for George Mason Elementary would begin in fiscal year 2025. Design would begin in 2024 and construction would be complete in 2027.

Funding for Cora Kelly School would begin in fiscal year 2027. Design work for Cora Kelly School is expected to begin in 2026 followed by construction. Construction is aimed to be done in time for the 2029-2030 school year.

The 1703 N. Beauregard building purchased by ACPS is intended to be a swing space during the George Mason Elementary and Cora Kelly School projects before becoming a new school. Funding in the CIP proposal would support renovations to turn the office building into a school.

Aside from major capital projects, the proposed CIP includes funding for life-cycle replacements of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) across ACPS, the demolition of the old Patrick Henry building currently being used as swing space for Douglas MacArthur Elementary School, installation of fields at Patrick Henry K-8 School, and maintaining funding for updated textbooks and technology.

The Alexandria School Board will hold a public hearing on the CIP proposal on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m., and adoption is scheduled for Dec. 16. While the school board approves capital projects, the city government allocates funding for CIP projects. The city's next budget proposal will be presented in February 2022 with adoption by City Council on May 4, 2022.

See the full CIP budget proposal here.