How Arlington County and Public Schools Work Together to Save Money

Arlington Public Schools (APS) and Arlington County have had a long and productive relationship built on cooperation for many years. While local revenues are shared according to the guidelines in the revenue sharing agreement between the two bodies, there are many other ways that Arlington County and APS cooperate and share resources.

“Our partnership with Arlington County is one of the greatest relationships we have,” said School Board Chair Sally Baird. “This partnership allows both organizations to share resources and work together to benefit not just students and families but the entire community as well,” she added.

Facility Use

Washington-Lee High School's new, state-of-the-art swimming pool opened to the public in July 2009.

With space at a premium in Arlington, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources (PRCR) is given priority in using school facilities after APS programs. In the recent APS Community Satisfaction Survey, 47 percent of community members said they used APS facilities for exercise classes, organizational meetings, performing arts events, or adult education classes. Eighty-three percent said they were highly satisfied with the access provided to them. 

In 2009, the Reed School/Westover Library project was opened. This latest joint project included renovating the historic portion of the existing building to accommodate APS programs and a new Westover branch library in an environmentally-sustainable facility. Another joint facility is the APS Career Center/Columbia Pike Branch Library. 

APS and Arlington County also partner on mixed-use facilities at Drew, Hoffman-Boston (Carver), Langston-Brown, Thomas Jefferson and Gunston. 

In addition to the instructional aquatics program for students, Arlington’s three pools at Wakefield, Washington-Lee and Yorktown provide instructional and recreational aquatic opportunities to residents by supporting a variety of activities. In 2009, Arlington County and APS signed a new Memorandum of Understanding, which reiterates access to aquatic facilities by Arlington residents while streamlining the management of the pools by APS. 

Similarly, Gulf Branch, Long Branch and Potomac Overlook Nature Centers offer a full range of educational programs on natural and cultural history topics for Arlington students. Schools are also used as polling places during elections, and serve as integral components in the County’s emergency operations plans. 

Health Services

Arlington County’s Department of Human Services (DHS) provides health services to APS, including nurses and clinic aides. School health staff provides a full range of public health services for school-aged children and their families, including dental care and immunizations. School clinic staff monitors and informs staff, students and families about potential health issues and provides information and guidance to encourage healthy behaviors.

Randolph Elementary school nurse Linda Spillers attends to a student injury.

DHS also provides school-based mental health therapists to assist students and their families, and a DHS pediatrician provides consultation and physical exams for students who are uninsured. The School Health Bureau is responsible for direct care for students, case management for complex issues, providing preventive information on communicable diseases prevention (such as the recent H1N1 flu outbreak), as well as control and disease prevention.

In-School and After-School Programs

Arlington County's Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources provides a number of after school programs for teens and younger children, to support the development of life sills and social competencies. High school students with disabilities are enrolled in Life Skills classes.

Arlington Public Libraries conducts a number of book discussion programs in elementary, middle and high schools. Central Library every year hosts the annual juried student art exhibit. 

Joint Services

The APS Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides services to both APS and Arlington County employees and their families who may have problems which affect job performance. Counselors work one-on-one with employees referred to EAP. 

Likewise, contracts for health care and property insurance for both organizations are bid jointly, resulting in resource and cost savings. Both library systems share the library automation system, ACORN. APS rides on the County's trash and recycling contracts managed by the Solid Waste Bureau (Dept. of Environmental Services). 

School Safety

Former W-L assistant principal Tom Schelstrate and officer Steven Taphorn discuss after-school traffic.

The Arlington County Police Department provides school resource officers (SROs) and school crossing guards. SROs work closely with school staff and participate in informal screening of students when public-safety events occur in and around school grounds or bus stops. They also work with school staff on school emergency drills, training and follow-up.

In addition, many APS staff members serve on the countywide Emergency Planning Team and collaborate to provide countywide planning and support during community emergencies.

Fleet/Risk Management

Arlington County performs full service fleet management services for 132 school buses and 107 other support vehicles. This service includes vehicle maintenance and vehicle replacement including procurement and financing based on a depreciation schedule. The County also maintains vehicle fueling apparatus in two locations, purchases gasoline, diesel and CNG fuels and manages the fuel accounting system.

An Arlington County mechanic performs routine maintenance on a school bus.

Arlington County and APS have combined resources on risk management to better serve both organizations. Combining resources has allowed APS to hire a safety officer to provide routine inspections, such as fire, life-safety and playground inspections. This collaboration has also allowed both the County and the APS to be better positioned to buy insurance. According to APS risk management officer, APS and Arlington have pooled their property risk to lower by a significant amount the premiums each pay. 

Information Technology

APS and County technology initiatives include joint planning for the upgrade of county telephone and network services. Currently, the County Back-Up Network Operating Center (NOC-II) is under design for a location in an APS warehouse; space is provided for APS use. 

In addition to collaborating on software and hardware solutions, APS and Arlington County IT staff continues to look for new and innovative ways to use technology to support students, parents and staff.

Communications

APS and Arlington County collaborate bi-monthly to bring up-to-date news and information to residents through the joint production of The Citizen newsletter. Both organizations share proportionately with printing and postage costs, which is approximately 24 cents a copy to send to every household in Arlington.

Shared Interests

APS and Arlington County have created the Arlington Partnership for Children, Youth and Families to improve the health, well-being, and safety of children, youth, and families in Arlington. In addition, APS staff serves on a number of Arlington initiatives designed to support students and the community. These include the Project Peace Steering Committee, the APS/DHS Mental Health Committee, and the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness Steering Committee. 

Arlington Transit's I-Ride program encourages students to take ART buses, providing discount tokens and transit information kiosks in schools. The joint Walk/Bike to School Day annual event promotes walking and bicycling to school. 

APS and Arlington County joined together in 2007 to create FitArlington, an initiative to help promote a culture oCountyf fitness in the county. 

Better Services, Fewer Dollars

These are just a few of the many areas in which Arlington County and APS collaborate and share resources. “With our shared goals and collaborative working relationship, we’re able to achieve cost efficiencies that result in better services for fewer dollars,” said Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette. “This is a win-win-win for students, parents, and residents.” 

Arlington County and APS staff continue to look for even more ways to collaborate, share resources, and gain efficiencies. Both Boards -- Arlington County Board and Arlington School Board -- signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding on Collaboration that formalizes the collaborative work that has taken place for the past decade or more.  The agreement also calls for the two boards to meet two times a year to review the annual work plan and to discuss progress that has been made on collaborative projects. 

The ongoing effort includes a joint committee that will produce a work plan in early 2010.