The Richmond School Board unanimously adopted its budget for fiscal year 2027 – a budget that is somewhat living on a prayer due to state uncertainty, and includes new cuts to some teacher pay. 

After the Board initially approved a budget requesting a $12 million increase from the city, Mayor Danny Avula provided $8.2 million more, leaving a roughly $4 million gap. The majority of that comes from closing the Richmond Virtual Academy, which would’ve cost the division $3.2 million to run another year.

But a new cut from the administration is a reduction in hourly rates – $55 to $35 – for teachers when substituting for other teachers due to their absences and for lost time in planning periods. This would save Richmond Public Schools roughly $800,000, the remainder of the gap. 

“This felt like an unfortunate but a timely one to consider,” Superintendent Jason Kamras said to members.

The budget still covers other collective bargaining agreements, Kamras noted, like raises and step increases for all employees. It also includes a 75/25 split in health care insurance increase costs with employees.

Public comment included members from the Richmond Education Association – the union representing RPS educators – requesting the Board reject the budget until the hourly rates can be reinstated. The group is currently in negotiations with administrations for a new agreement as their current contract ends this June.

“There are people who will not be impacted as much if you cut appropriately and you budget appropriately,” said Chloe Tremper, a teacher at Thomas C. Boushall Middle School. 

Some commenters said money could be saved if they cut 10% from the higher-paid leaders in the division. 

“Why are these cuts being considered? Why are these cuts from the bottom and not from the top?” asked Hannah Clayman, a teacher at Albert Hill Middle School. 

In response to Board members’ questions for the administration’s reasoning behind the cut, Kamras said the hourly rates are higher than most school divisions, and with budget constraints, it felt necessary to bring it “closer to industry standards.”

There was little pushback from the governing body overall about the administration’s decision to reduce teacher pay. Wesley Hedgepeth (4th District) was the only member who was “worried” about the timing of negotiations with the cut. While acknowledging that teachers were still getting raises and step increases, he added that teachers still have a 25% share of health care insurance increase costs, along with having to pay out of pocket for vision insurance.

“What are the other alternatives? Because I was honestly hoping today that maybe we would have a few items that we could discuss and come to a consensus on rather than just one option," he said to Kamras. 

“To be honest, I’m really not sure where else at this late stage we would be able to identify any savings,” Kamras responded. “It is certainly by no means ideal.”

In addition to the teacher pay reduction, the division opted out of a one-time, $1,500 bonus the state provides for meeting its standards of quality – legal minimum requirements for public school programs and staffing the divisions must provide. 

Kamras said the division has more positions beyond what is required by the state, and it would cost $6 million to take the $1.5 million the state is providing for the bonuses. Without naming where, he said one neighboring school division is giving the bonus, while the other isn’t, for similar reasons. 

The budget is also assuming a $20 million increase in state funding, even though the General Assembly has not passed a budget. The House of Delegates is expected to meet on June 18 and the Senate on June 22, as the budget is due and supposed to begin on July 1.

Kamras said there is a “strong possibility” that the division will get the $20 million increase, which includes some one-time funding and can be used for a variety of purposes.

Still, school district leaders noted that the division would have to come back to the drawing board to adjust the budget if the state gives more or less.

“So we have in this budget proposal $20 million that we don’t know that we’re going to get,” Cheryl Burke (7th District) said. “That sounds like my type of banking.”

The budget also does not account for rising fuel costs, a recent cost pressure impacting everyone. 

“We have not increased our estimates for fuel simply because we would have to cut even more out of the budget,” Kamras said. “We’ll see how things develop.”

The capital improvement budget specifically now includes $500,000 to begin a bus loop project at Westover Hills Elementary and $100,000 for stadium lights at Thomas Jefferson’s football field, proposals brought forward by Hedgepeth and Vice Chair Matthew Percival (1st District) respectively.

Other Board members overall appeared content with the final budget, with Board Chair Shavonda Fernandez (9th District) saying that the Board had to balance the needs of the administration while considering feedback from school staff and constituents. 

“And because of that, we were able to add several things back in that will positively impact RPS,” she said. 

This year’s budget process has been an arduous one. Kamras had initially proposed several cuts, including laying off 46 central office employees, closing elementary and middle summer school, reducing mental health services and shuttering Richmond Virtual Academy. 

That led to sweeping criticism and confusion from school employees, drawing them to public comment to express their opposition. 

The administration eventually walked back some cuts following its funding increase from the city. But central office layoffs and the closure of the division’s virtual school remained. 

RHSA timeline

As Richmond High School for the Arts gets closer to its open date, school officials admitted that the move-in date for teachers will be a “rushed” one. 

The timeline is as follows:

• July 31: the building must be in “substantial completion.”
• Aug. 17: the building will be open for teachers and staff to move in.
• Aug. 24: first day of school and first day in the new building for students.

Katie Ricard, Board representative for the 2nd District, brought up William Fox Elementary’s opening last year, saying that teachers then felt rushed when they had to move in. 

“For RHSA, I just wanted to say that out loud that careful consideration is given to try and give them the opportunity to get their classrooms ready so that they don’t feel rushed or stressed before the start of school,” she said. 

“We are absolutely going to be in a rushed scenario,” Chief Operating Officer Patrick Herrel responded.

New high school timeline accelerated after flooding at RHSA

Crews will work seven days a week to get the new building ready.

The RichmonderMichael Phillips

He said that the administration will work on having a system where teachers can report issues they need addressed, a lesson from Fox Elementary’s opening.  

Following the recent flooding at Richmond High School for the Arts, the administration decided to close the old school and put funds that would’ve gone towards repairs to the new school. It is unclear how much costs will be for contractor S.B. Ballard to work overtime to get the school up and running. 

The Southside school is also soon going to be the first to implement the division’s high school redesign that anchors all five comprehensive schools into specific themes and fields, like government, human services, technology, and business, as part of RPS’ Passion4Learning plan that is included in the Dreams4RPS strategic plan. 

For RHSA, that means incorporating art-related classes into the school’s curriculum, like dance, fashion, theater, and film studies. Luke Hostetter, deputy chief of staff, said that the courses would be integrated slowly over time. Ninth graders in the 2027-28 school year will be the first to experience the new model. 

Contact Reporter Victoria A. Ifatusin at vifatusin@richmonder.org. The headline of this article has been updated.