ACPS School Board Approves 2026 Final Budget

The Alexandria City School Board adopted the final Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Combined Funds (CF) Budget, totaling $392.3 million, at the Alexandria City School Board meeting on June 12, 2025. The final FY26 Combined Funds Adopted Budget comes less than two months after the Alexandria City Council adopted its FY 2026 budget for the City of Alexandria on April 30, 2025. The final adopted budget incorporates adjustments recommended by the School Board and the superintendent. 

The CF budget focuses on improvements in staff compensation and benefits, increased key school-based staff positions, operations and safety enhancements, technology integration and funding to support redistricting efforts.

“The Final FY26 budget is a reflection of the priorities of our entire community and lays the groundwork for continued progress in our schools,” said School Board Chair Dr. Michelle Rief. “We’re grateful to the City of Alexandria for their continued partnership and to the community for their thoughtful engagement throughout the process. Thank you for helping us shape a budget that supports our students.”

The Final CF Budget includes the Operating Budget, School Nutrition Fund as well as Grants and Special Projects Fund, totaling $392.3 million. The ACPS Operating Budget of $361.1 million (excluding the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) transfer) for the 2025-26 school year is an increase of 3.9% from the FY25 Operating Fund Budget. The Final Operating Fund Budget dedicates funding for a step increase for all eligible employees, health benefit increases and recruitment and retention bonuses (for hard-to-fill positions). The FY26 Final Operating Budget also includes funding for continued middle school athletic programming, an American Sign Language Teacher, a 0.5 FTE advanced academic services teacher, an additional 2.6 FTE social workers and funding to increase the ACPS retiree healthcare premium subsidy and the long-term substitute pay for ACPS Retirees. 

“Finalizing this budget marks the culmination of a year-long, collaborative effort rooted in our mission to nurture, educate and inspire each student for success,” said ACPS Superintendent Dr. Melanie Kay-Wyatt. “I deeply appreciate the dedication of our staff, the engagement of our community and the partnership of the School Board in shaping a budget that reflects our values and priorities. With this approved budget, we are positioned to help each student prepare to thrive in college, career and community.”

ACPS has provided several engagement opportunities for the community to partake in, including a Community Budget Forum, a Public Hearing held in January and several work sessions. 

The full budget timeline and a summary of this year’s budget process can be found on the ACPS FY26 Budget webpage. The June 12, 2025, School Board meeting, at which the budget was adopted, is available to view online.