To the editor:

I grew up with an absent father and an abusive mother. The abuse was so bad that if this pandemic had happened when I was a child, either my mother or I would not be alive today.

I hated summers. Yes, what kid says that? School was my saving grace. I could escape the abuse and get two meals a day, which I wasn’t getting at home.

I recently spent some time with a “living legend” here in Alexandria. He said reports of child abuse to Child Protective Services are down. Do you think that’s because there is less abuse? No, it’s because most reports to CPS are made by teachers. He also said emergency room visits due to child abuse are more than double.

Equity in ACPS? No, never. These kids need to be in school.

Has anyone ever looked at the amount of staff and six-figure salaries at Alexandria City Public School headquarters? Do I think we should reduce in-school salaries such as for teachers, principals and custodians? No way.

But the amount of money spent on staff at headquarters versus money spent on upkeep of schools, or building new schools, should be addressed. Why don’t we let those ACPS staff continue to work from home, assuming they are, and use their building and our schools that the Alexandria Soccer Association is using and get some of our kids, if not all, on a rotating basis, back in school?

Overcrowding should have been addressed before a pandemic, and where ACPS spends its money is relevant. We are the stakeholders.

-Molly Kaiman, ACPS parent