Greetings Jackson-Reed Community,

Although last week was only four school days, it was full of events recognizing staff members, celebrating Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, and many more. I’m thankful for all our students, staff, and volunteers who make our school community so vibrant. Another event last week was our Local School Advisory Team (LSAT) budget meeting.   

As you may know, DCPS provided schools with their initial allocations for fiscal year 2025. Some shifts are taking place within our budget that include: 

• The end of the three-year federal recovery funds to address COVID-19 
• The planned expansion of MacArthur High School to ease overcrowding at J-R 
• Well-deserved increases in compensation for members of our Faculty and Staff 

These factors, along with others, such as rising inflationary costs, mean difficult decisions must be made. Please know that budget decisions will be made in a manner that will still allow us to support students, staff, and families and that are aligned with the new DCPS Strategic Plan. Conversations related to the FY25 budget will continue with the LSAT this week, and our submitted budget will be presented in March. These are hard conversations but necessary to prepare our students and staff for future success.   

If you have questions about the budget process or want to review our initial allocation, please visit dcpsbudget.com.