Arlington Public Schools’ region high per-student spending came under scrutiny as County Board and School Board members last month sat down for budget discussions.
“We’re spending significant money,” County Board member Julius “JD” Spain, Sr., said at the March 12 discussion between the two elected bodies.
Advocates for permanent local funding for after-school programs received support, but not necessarily promises, from county leaders at a March 27 rally.
Hundreds turned out for the evening program at Kenmore Middle School, urging county leaders to see the value in safety-net programs for students.
The Arlington School Board’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget makes no immediate revisions to a nearly $860 million spending package presented by the superintendent.
The School Board package lining up with that of Superintendent Francisco Durán “is not unusual” at this stage of the budget process, School Board Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton said at the March 26 Board meeting.
Arlington Public Schools students will have off during a statewide redistricting referendum following a divided School Board vote last week.
In a 3-2 vote last Thursday, School Board members voted to give students the day off on Tuesday, April 21. The decision represented a split between a majority who saw logistical and safety concerns in keeping students in class, and those who did not wish to lose another instructional day and force parents to scramble for daycare options.
A rally in support of after-school programming in Arlington will take place later this week at Kenmore Middle School.
Organizers plan to ask leaders to “work with us over the next year to ensure that what has been called a pilot program will become permanent, with ongoing funding and a path toward expansion to meet the needs of children in our community,” said Marjorie Green of Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE).
The Arlington School Board is poised to adopt more comprehensive conflict-of-interest rules, while also authorizing a hotline for staff to report suspected financial impropriety.
Assuming the pair of new policies is adopted at the March 26 School Board meeting, the new hotline for waste, fraud and abuse will be in operation “in the coming weeks,” said Steven Marku, the school system’s director of policy and legislative affairs, at a March 12 meeting.
County leaders are considering criticisms of a proposal to exclude new tax revenue from a sharing agreement with Arlington Public Schools.
Despite some pushback at a Saturday meeting, County Board members largely defended County Manager Mark Schwartz’s proposal, noting current fiscal pressures.
Arlington Democrats have officially endorsed School Board Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton’s bid for a second term.
Zecher Sutton was the lone candidate to seek the party’s endorsement prior to the Feb. 27 filing deadline. As a result, the planned May caucus was canceled, and party members unanimously voted to support her on Wednesday.
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.
Arlington Public Schools’ proposed fiscal year 2027 budget reflects challenging economic conditions and uncertainty over state and federal education funding commitments.
Superintendent Francisco Durán’s $856 million proposal represents an increase of 1.3% from the current budget, one of the smallest year-over-year rates of growth in recent years.
New data suggests that Arlington Public Schools is making progress on lowering the rate of students being chronically absent from class.
Through Jan. 30, 10% of APS students this school year were absent from class more than 10% of the time, according to data reported at the Feb. 19 School Board meeting. That’s down from rates of 12.4% for the 2024-25 school year and 13.2% from 2023-24.
School Board Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton launched her reelection bid last week with a pledge to fight for students — and against the Trump administration.
“We’re all feeling the impact of this administration’s attacks on our values. We will not back down,” Zecher Sutton said during Wednesday remarks to about 200 people at the monthly Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting.
