The wait is over. 

The doors of Richmond High School for the Arts are finally open after construction began three years ago. 

The nearly 300,000-square-foot building, capable of holding just under 2,000 students, cost the division about $150 million with the help of the city’s meal tax. The division agreed to construct the new building back in 2017.

Inside of the building is a 14,000 square foot auditorium with a balcony, a 900-capacity cafeteria, and a large gym and basketball court that can seat over 2,000 fans. Newer additions include a podcast studio, a weight room for athletes, a ballet and dance studio, and a childcare lab for children of students where students interested in early education can learn from preschool professionals.

All of that will be for the expected 1,600 students attending the school in just a few days. 

“I want them to feel like ‘Wow, I am special. Like, all of this for me?’ Because that's what I felt when I walked through the door. All of this, and I get to lead this beautiful space and these beautiful children. I want them to walk in the door and imagine the possibilities,” said incoming school Principal Monica Glass.

Glass, who led John Marshall High School to a 100% graduation rate, previously attended RHSA as a student when it was known as George Wythe High.

The school will be the first to implement the division’s high school redesign, as part of the district's Dreams4RPS 5-year strategic plan. As referenced in its name, RHSA will have a primary focus on the arts, offering classes like dance, fashion, theater and film studies. Ninth graders in the 2027-28 school year will be the first to experience the new model, which could possibly yield about a dozen more teachers to the school, Superintendent Jason Kamras said. Zoned students as well as students who apply through open enrollment can attend the school. 

The original plan was to open the school after winter break. But at the end of the previous school year, the old building abruptly closed due to flooding from a malfunctioning HVAC system.

Richmond High School for the Arts closed after flooding

A new school is under construction directly adjacent to the current school, with a scheduled move date of mid-September.

The RichmonderRichmonder Staff

That building, built in 1960, will be demolished and replaced by new athletic facilities that will also contain a field of artificial turf for football players, as part of the school’s second phase that will cost the division more money. 

School Board votes to spend at least $2 million to add turf athletic field at new high school

Kamras said the RHSA community “would feel disrespected if they did not get what they were expecting.”

The RichmonderVictoria A. Ifatusin

During remarks, school leaders thanked taxpayers and advocated for the upcoming 1% sales tax referendum, when voters will decide whether or not to take on an additional 1% tax that will go towards school construction and renovation.

Richmond voters will decide on 1% sales tax for schools after Council OKs referendum

If enacted, the extra sales tax would generate up to $47 million per year for school system projects.

The RichmonderGraham Moomaw

“This is the perfect example of when the community comes together, not just RPS families, but Richmond City as a whole, and what the meals tax was able to accomplish,” said Richmond School Board Chair Shavonda Fernandez (9th District). “(What) the 1% sales tax referendum will do is expedite the amount of time it takes for these types of buildings to be built.”

Leaders reiterated the need for funding, citing the old age of the division’s buildings and the little money it receives to fix them. Kamras said a previous assessment of the division’s buildings estimated that RPS needs $680 million for basic maintenance for the next 20 years, while only getting $2.5 million annually for capital improvements. 

Richmond schools need $43.7 million in immediate repairs, find reports on building conditions

Bureau Veritas, a global consulting firm, has conducted similar facilities reviews for school systems around the country.

The RichmonderSarah Vogelsong

Board member Stephanie Rizzi, who represents the 5th District the school is in, said that RPS has been “putting Band-Aids on these buildings for too long, and they're not gonna hold” with the funding the district currently gets.

A facilities plan for where that funding will go towards will not be ready by the time voters head to the polls, the superintendent has previously said. Instead, Kamras said the division will engage the public on what that plan should look like before getting the Richmond School Board approval. 

RPS won’t have facility spending plan in place before November election

“I actually think it’s a good thing in a way that we have the opportunity for the city to weigh in and to share what they believe the priorities should be as we take the next step with this fund.”

The RichmonderVictoria A. Ifatusin

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the school’s opening, which was scheduled for Thursday, was postponed to later this fall due to potential weather conditions.