A little over two years ago, we convened the joint Long Range Educational Facilities Work Group. The group was given the essential charge to understand our recent increase in student enrollment, better project enrollment growth in the future, and decide what to do about it. 

In September, 14,167 children started school in the Alexandria City Public Schools. The last time that many children attended our schools was over 40 years ago in the early 1970s. 

The School Board Chair and Vice Chair, the Mayor and I have joined an experienced group of residents to work through this issue with the community. 

One of the earliest tasks completed by the group was to agree upon a methodology for how we can project future enrollment. Ending the days where the Schools had one projection for student enrollment and the City had another, was paramount. 

Every year, we examine the actual student enrollment to refine our projections and ensure that our methodology is sound.

The headline is that enrollment in the Alexandria City Public Schools grew by 4% over last year. We have 593 more kids 

in the system than we had last year. Between September 2006 and this school year, the system has averaged over 4% growth every year. 

Our projection for this year was 14,111, which means the projection was on target. 

We have also worked to understand where the enrollment is coming from. For example, we learned that low-rise apartments generate nearly 3 times the students as high-rise or mid-rise apartments do. We learned that single family homes generate nearly double the students as townhouses. We now know that public housing and other income-restricted units far outpace any other property type for student generation.

We now know that housing units built over 30 years ago account for 4 times the student generation as those built in the past 30 years. 

In the final analysis, these data points remind us of the need to address this enrollment growth head on. 

With that in mind, the group has just released the Draft Long Range Educational Facilities Plan. The Plan is the culmination of the group's work in conjunction with the efforts of both ACPS and City staff. The plan looks at each school building in the City, assesses the educational adequacy and provides a roadmap for increasing capacity and addressing deficiencies. 

What do you think? From now until June 8th, the City and ACPS are collecting input on the draft plan using the City's AlexEngage system. 

The draft plan will come to both the School Board and City Council for adoption this month. Upon conclusion we will move to the next phase of planning for additional capacity at the middle school and high school lvel. 

I look forward to your input as we work to ensure the success of our children. 

A little over five years ago, the School Board adopted proposed capital funding for a new elementary school on the City's West End. Specifically, they proposed the site of the existing Patrick Henry Elementary School and Recreation Center.

The school itself was originally built in 1953. Classroom additions were constructed in 1995 and 2011. The recreation center was added in 1973. Today 600 students attend the existing school. 

With the enrollment challenges, particularly on the West End, and the inadequate infrastructure, replacing Patrick Henry now is a priority. 

Last month in adopting the Capital Improvement Program, the Council approved $38.1 million for replacement of Patrick Henry Elementary School, and another $6.7 million for replacement of Patrick Henry Recreation Center. 

Last week, the School Board accepted the feasibility study on the new school, and chose their preferred configuration for the new building. 

There still remains considerable uncertainty over the configuration and features of the replacement recreation center. 

On Thursday evening and Saturday morning, City staff will hold community meetings to collect input on the future of the recreation center. 

It is my hope that the ultimate design will be a carefully integrated school and recreation center. This is the first time in a decade and a half that we have built a joint City/Schools facility, and it's important to define a future model process to work from.

Once the design is finalized, this project will proceed to the City's land-use approval process like other projects. Please let me know your thoughts.