In early June, the Richmond School Board was presented with five different repurposing ideas for the Clark Springs Elementary School building, right before students and staff were set to vacate the building and move into the fully restored Fox Elementary School. 

But at Tuesday’s School Board meeting, the RPS administration offered a new recommendation: temporarily doing nothing with it. 

The building, like many other properties in the division, is in need of maintenance upgrades. Superintendent Jason Kamras told Board members the building requires a new HVAC system, and likely require asbestos abatement during that process. 

Those changes would cost the division $4 million, more than double the district’s budget for maintenance this year.

“I cannot in good conscience recommend to the board that we spend $4 million on a facility that does not currently have students and staff,” he said.

Although the Board was not voting on what to do with the building, members made their opposition to Kamras’ mothballing recommendation clear. 

Stephanie Rizzi (5th District) said that members in her district were concerned that the building would sit vacant for a long time and wanted to see activity at the school soon, particularly by letting Open High School students use the space. Rizzi noted that Open High has never had a gym or a cafeteria in its building. 

“We’re talking about the number two high school in the state,” she said, referring to a recent U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of public high schools. “I think it deserves that investment.”

With Fox reopening, the district offered 5 options for Clark Springs

“Whatever we do, I just want us to use the space – just not have it closed down.”

The RichmonderVictoria A. Ifatusin

Kamras responded by saying that he is in favor of moving Open High to Clark Springs, but would need more funding to retrofit the bathrooms, originally made for elementary students, for high school students. 

Shonda Harris-Muhammed (6th District) asked if the administration and Board could have the “same dedication and heart” for staff working at the Albert V. Norrell Elementary School building. The school also has bathrooms made for young children that adults have to use, which she said she brought up years ago. 

Members also brought up the timeliness and support Fox Elementary received when funding was needed to restore the school. Emmett Jafari (8th District) said that the board needs to have the “same sense of urgency” in restoring Clark Springs as it did with Fox. 

Rizzi noted that the state was able to provide $10 million to help with Fox’s construction, and should be able to do the same for Clark Springs. 

Public-private partnership floated

Kamras suggested that a public-private partnership could hasten the timeline of getting the needed funding, resulting in students moving in quicker.

In a public-private partnership, a private group would fund the building repairs in exchange for partial use of the facility.

“I would hate for it to lie dormant for a long time,” Katie Ricard (2nd District) said. “So for that reason, I would support a public-private enterprise if it fits our needs and works for us.”

Members expressed the goal of looking for funding sources elsewhere and trying to come up with more ideas in addition to the public-private partnership. 

Board Chair Shavonda Fernandez (9th District) said she was disappointed with the infrastructure issues present in Clark Springs, but suggested tapping into the Richmond Ed Fund, which can seek donations from the public that would be directed solely towards construction and maintenance. 

“I know in the 8th and 9th, we are busting out of the seams and overpopulated and really need additional schools,” she said. “So I would be very interested in starting that conversation.”

Cheryl Burke (7th District) emphasized not letting the building sit without any use and asked if the division could receive similar grant funding that was used to refurbish Fox Elementary for Clark Springs. 

“I hope we don’t have this conversation again in November or December and the building is just sitting there,” she said. “The building needs life.” 

Another vacant building

Clark Springs would join the at least five fully or partially vacant properties Richmond Public School owns, and the discussion calls into question the effectiveness of the district holding on to those buildings.

Vice Chair Matthew Percival (1st District) asked Kamras how much it would cost to keep the building mothballed, noting that temporarily doing nothing to Clark Springs will cost something in the long term, like having to fix the building’s roof. Kamras responded saying that he did not have exact numbers, but a portion of the roof was replaced recently.

Percival later told The Richmonder that it’s crucial to not conflate the division wanting to keep its vacant properties with RPS having to keep some properties vacant due to the division’s underfunded capital improvement budget. 

“We have multiple proposals for how to effectively use Clark Springs and other spaces,” he said. “What we lack is adequate funding to realize maximum productive use of those spaces.” 

Rizzi, who is the chair of the Board’s Vacant Property committee, told The Richmonder that the Board is committed to ensuring that properties don’t remain vacant for extended periods of time, emphasizing that a key responsibility of the committee is maintaining an inventory of the vacant properties, and recommending appropriate actions. 

“Our ultimate goal is to ensure that every property activity contributes to meeting the needs of our students and the communities we serve,” she said. 

Contact Reporter Victoria A. Ifatusin at vifatusin@richmonder.org