Constrained finances make it less likely Arlington Public Schools will add new high-school sports in the coming school year.
Left unfunded under Superintendent Francisco Durán’s $856 million proposed fiscal year 2027 school budget are staff proposals to add boys volleyball and girls flag football to athletic programming.
They are among proposals from various departments that school-system staff recommended for new funding. None has received funding in Durán’s budget plan, unveiled Feb. 26.
Leaving that funding out is part of “some significant choices” made owing to a challenging fiscal environment, Durán told School Board members.
While the two additional sports are left off for now, it’s always possible that a groundswell of support could push them higher on the priority list during upcoming budget considerations. Boosters of the two sports might see their cases helped by the relatively modest costs involved.
Arlington Public Schools already has volleyball equipment available for its girls program. Durán estimates that adding boys volleyball, a sport sanctioned by the Virginia High School League (VHSL), would add $50,000 to the budget over the coming year.
Girls flag football, which is not yet VHSL-sanctioned and is more of a club sport, would cost about $24,000, according to APS projections.
The proposals are not included in a list of $18.8 million in unfunded priority needs that Durán submitted to Board members. Instead, they are part of a list of 11 new proposals, totaling $627,000, a notch lower on the priority ranking. Durán’s total budget request is up 1.3% from the current fiscal year.
While introduction of the sports may not come for 2026-27, one person with knowledge of school operations told ARLnow “it’ll come eventually.”
Arlington has some catching up to do with its regional leaders when it comes to boys volleyball.
Fairfax County Public Schools introduced the sport as a varsity program in 2024 and plans to expand to the junior-varsity level later this year.
Meridian High School in Falls Church and Alexandria City High School also have varsity boys volleyball programs. Advocates are pressing school leaders in Prince William County to add the sport, as well.
Boys volleyball is popular downstate, especially in the Richmond and Hampton Roads areas.
Meanwhile, Fairfax County is considering adding girls flag football to its high-school athletics offerings.
Another sports-related proposal left out of Durán’s budget plan was approximately $170,000 to employ a countywide assistant athletics director plus half-time administrative support.
Dave Facinoli contributed to this report.
