As city officials continue to project that money will be tighter next year, the Richmond School Board on Tuesday asked the superintendent to cut the school division’s request for additional funding from $43 million to $30 million. 

“We have to make some hard decisions tonight,” said Board Chair Shavonda Fernandez. 

This January, Superintendent Jason Kamras put forward a budget proposal calling for $43.7 million more for operation of Richmond Public Schools, as well as $13.6 million more for improvements to school buildings. 

Kamras has indicated from the beginning that it would be a challenge for the schools to secure that full amount, which far exceeds the largest funding increase of $21 million that RPS has gotten in recent years. He repeated that view Tuesday, saying, “My understanding is the city is going through a lean year, and so while we will certainly get an increase, I think it will be fair to say it will not be an increase of the magnitude that we would all love it to be.” 

On Monday, Mayor Danny Avula told the City Council to brace for “real hard decisions” during budget season because of changes in federal funding and the city's decisions to make “deep investments in our front-line workers.”

"We're in a really different place than we have been in recent years," the mayor said.

‘Our reach may exceed our grasp’

The mayor’s outlook overshadowed the deliberations of the School Board Tuesday as members sought to adjust Kamras’ plan ahead of submitting their proposal to the city this March. Because school boards in Virginia are prohibited from levying taxes to raise money, they rely on allocations made to them by the state and the local governing body. 

“I just heard a financial forecast that was gloomy to say the least, and then I look at what looks like a Christmas wish list of items,” said member E.J. “Emmett Jay” Jafari (8th District) as the board began to review a 39-page list of Kamras’ funding proposals. “We’ve got to be realistic here.” 

Kamras said Jafari was “100% right.”

“I think it is likely that the only thing in this entire 40-page document that we will be able to afford is our collective bargaining agreements,” he said. “So if you asked me tonight to put forward a budget proposal that I think is realistic given everything I know about our current revenue forecast, that is what I would propose to you this evening.” 

RPS has projected it will need an additional $16.5 million — roughly 40% of Kamras’ January proposal — to fulfill the requirements of the collective bargaining agreements it has either signed or expects to sign once negotiations with two remaining bargaining units are resolved. 

Of that, just over half, or $8.6 million, is for pay increases for teachers and other instructional staff. Both the unions and the Kamras administration have said the higher salaries allow the division to be more competitive in its recruitment of high-quality teachers as well as help reduce turnover. 

“What does that then look like for next year’s budget cycle of [fiscal year] ’27?” asked 2nd District member Katie Ricard. “And do we focus on satisfying that this year and then maybe things will be different the following year … or are we kind of going to be here year after year?” 

Finding funding for increased personnel costs is likely to be an ongoing challenge, Kamras indicated, particularly in 2027, when the city plans to freeze real estate tax assessments in an effort to align the assessment and budget schedules. 

“Everybody on this dais wants to give every last penny we possibly can to our extraordinary staff,” he said. But, he continued, “I do worry that we may soon be reaching a point where our reach may exceed our grasp.” 

Debate over potential cuts

Kamras has sought to reduce some division expenses by splitting the costs of health insurance increases evenly between RPS and employees, a proposal that he estimates would save $4 million next year. The schools have been paying for 100% of increases for the past six years, an arrangement the superintendent has said isn’t sustainable.

The idea has sparked backlash from the unions, which say the resulting higher premiums will undercut the salary increases won through collective bargaining. 

Those complaints have made traction with at least some School Board members. Ali Faruk, who represents the 3rd District, has shopped around a list of $5 million in possible reductions from Kamras’ January spending plan that could cover the costs of the health insurance increases. Those would include forgoing the hiring of 22 more care and safety associates — who among other duties are involved in security and conflict resolution at schools — and not moving forward with the launch of another 200-day school. 

“These reductions do not mean I do not support these priorities, but just that we have many good things we need to fund and limited dollars to do it,” he wrote in an email to other board members. 

While the School Board ultimately asked Kamras to revise down his budget proposal to only $30 million, rather than the $16.5 million that the collective bargaining agreements will cost, even those cuts caused heartburn among some members, who say they believe the $43 million figure reflects the actual needs of the division. 

“I’m not comfortable backing off the budget at all. I will, but I’m not comfortable with it,” said Vice Chair Matthew Percival (1st District) in an impassioned speech. “I’m a realist, and I think everybody here is trying to be a realist. But the reality is that those above us with the purse strings are not doing their jobs.” 

“When I look at this budget and we have to back off, I’m looking at roofs being replaced – seven roofs — seven or eight HVACs that need to be replaced, that we’re basically saying, ‘Can’t do it. We don’t have the money,’” he continued. “Is that what the City Council and General Assembly are telling us? Don’t replace roofs?” 

Jafari, however, insisted the School Board has “to be realistic to our constituents and to not lead them down the yellow brick road.” 

“We can’t really control what City Council does,” he said. “We have to operate within our means.” 

Both Jafari and 6th District member Shonda Harris-Muhammed voted against the $30 million proposal, with Harris-Muhammed pushing for a $23 million ask. Percival abstained from the vote. 

Wesley Hedgepeth (4th District) floated the idea of school consolidation as a possible money saver, saying that although “there’s a real concern and a need to have community schools … that’s a reduction that could keep us whole.” 

Kamras, however, said that while the board could open up that conversation, “there’s no way that that would be able to happen for next school year.” 

“Any savings that could potentially come from that, I really think we’re talking about the next budget cycle,” he said. “To do something like that requires extensive community engagement. It is a very painful process, and it’s not one that we could launch with basically four months of the school year left.”

Reporter Graham Moomaw contributed to this story.

Contact Reporter Sarah Vogelsong at svogelsong@richmonder.org