Rizzi reflects on transformative school board experience while Taylor lobbies for a return to the seat in 5th District race

When both Stephanie Rizzi and Mamie Taylor talk about their time on the School Board, the lessons they describe aren’t just about what kids learn in the classroom. They’re also about what the two local politicians, who this fall are running against each other to represent the 5th District, have learned about how to govern. 

Rizzi, a career educator at both the K-12 and college levels who has been on the School Board since 2020, was part of a 5-4 voting bloc that frequently opposed the recommendations of Superintendent Jason Kamras’ administration during the early years of her term. Among the most high-profile of the majority’s decisions were the 2021 vote to wrest control of the school construction process from City Hall and the 2022 rejection of a rezoning plan intended to alleviate overcrowding at River City Middle on the Southside. (The latter vote was later reversed.) 

But after becoming chair in January 2023 — a role she held through June 2024, when she stepped down ahead of what she described as a plan by other board members to oust her — Rizzi said her approach to governance began to change.  

“It started really to dawn on me that outwardly opposing administration in board meetings was counterproductive to my goals, and it set a really difficult example for our communities,” she said. “It seemed to me that that type of dynamic actually really did trickle down into and impact our schools and our students.” 

While Rizzi insisted that she’s “never voted for something that I didn't believe in,” she said she shifted toward asking more questions of the administration and expressing concerns ahead of board meetings, behind the scenes — a change she believes has made her more effective. Now in board meetings, it’s not uncommon for her to draw a distinction between the superintendent’s role of running the division on a day-to-day basis and the board’s role of setting broader policy.

“What I want to know and help be sure of is that each of our children has access to a world-class education,” she said. “So my ultimate goal is to make sure that as a board, we are supporting that progress by making sure that we create and pass good policy, and also that we’re supportive of whatever administration we have to work with.”

Taylor, a former educator and journalist, similarly describes past experiences on the School Board as a catalyst for growth. A member of the body between 2013 and 2016, her tenure included several high-profile clashes with the division and other School Board members, particularly over the closure of Clark Springs Elementary and a proposal to shutter Binford Middle (now Dogwood Middle). In an unusual move in 2015, she hired Cruz Sherman, who this year is running to represent the 8th District, to field media inquiries about her board decisions. 

Perhaps most prominently, she sought a protective order against fellow former member Kim Gray over an argument that occurred in a closed session. A judge turned down the request. 

Asked about the incident, Taylor attributed it to strong feelings about the closure of Clark Springs and showed The Richmonder a recent photograph of she and Gray together, with Gray kissing her on the cheek. 

“I think that experience has given us a chance to really grow and realize what’s important, and that’s the educational outcomes and children,” she said. 

Both Rizzi and Taylor have racked up significant endorsements as they compete for the 5th District seat in one of the most closely watched School Board races of the fall. 

Taylor is being backed by the PAC for the Richmond Education Association, the local teachers union, as well as the Teamsters and LiUNA unions that represent other workers within Richmond Public Schools.

Rizzi has gotten the endorsements of Richmonders for Effective Governance of Schools, a group that emerged earlier this year to push for a more “governance-minded” School Board after the years of public infighting, and the Richmond Crusade for Voters, as well as 5th District City Councilor Stephanie Lynch, who is unopposed this fall. 

Noticeably absent from her endorsement list is Richmond for All, a progressive education and housing group co-founded by School Board member Kenya Gibson that in 2020 backed not only Rizzi but also Gibson and 6th District member Shonda Harris-Muhammed. 

Rizzi said that she is no longer affiliated with the group: “I just think we had some philosophical differences, and I am a person who wants to remain independent, able to do my own research, to talk to my community, to talk to the people on the ground in the schools every day and then make decisions and not be influenced by someone else's ideology,” she said. “Or not influenced, but controlled.” 

On fundraising, Rizzi has surged ahead of Taylor, with over $18,700 raised to Taylor’s $3,500. Most of that comes from October donations, including thousands from REGS and We the People, another group launched in recent years to promote School Board candidates statewide who reflect “student-centered leadership, focus on good governance and strong financial stewardship, practical and responsible policy outcomes, and push … back against political extremism.” 

Taylor 

Among the accomplishments Taylor is touting from her earlier School Board tenure are the drafting of Richmond Public Schools’ first equity policy, revisions to the kindergarten policy that allowed earlier enrollment of children with birthdays late in the year and salary decompression efforts. 

She was narrowly defeated by former School Board member Patrick Sapini in 2016 and went on to run for the 5th District City Council seat in 2019 and 2020. She lost to Stephanie Lynch both times. 

If elected, Taylor said her top priorities would include increasing the autonomy individual schools have, ensuring staff quickly receive pay increases and benefits secured through the collective bargaining process and addressing infrastructure problems within the division. 

“I'm hearing a lot from staff that they would love to see more building autonomy throughout the division, and that way more of the district funds can be allocated to individual school buildings where leaders and staff know exactly what the concerns are, what the resources needed are,” she said. “And then they can kind of cut through some of the red tape to make sure it gets to where it's needed faster.” 

More investment is needed on the facilities front to address widely publicized mold problems in some division schools, she said, as well as other dilapidation and pest problems. 

“I remember when the General Assembly found mold, they shut it down immediately, put them in another building, and now we have a new infrastructure at the corner of Broad Street,” she said. “I would like to see that same type of priority and importance placed on the facilities where our students and staff spend a great deal of their day.” 

Asked about how she perceives the current state of Richmond Public Schools, Taylor said she believes the division is headed “downward” and “on a path that lends itself to much improvement.” 

Recent increases in test scores and graduation rates, as well as declines in chronic absenteeism, are “very promising,” she said. But, she continued, “I don’t know. It still lends itself to who’s slipping through the cracks.” 

On Kamras, whose contract will be up for renewal this winter, she isn’t committing herself one way or another. At a League of Women Voters forum this September, she praised the division’s recent improvements on testing and graduation, but said “having the opportunity to work firsthand with the superintendent and see what the staff is having to say about his support and his performance is necessary.” 

In an interview, she took a similar line: “I've never worked with Kamras, but I'm hoping that having the opportunity to do so will give me a clear perspective as to how effective he is presiding over the division.” 

Rizzi

Rizzi has said her priority if reelected will be to continue academic progress that’s already underway. Besides the positive trends in SOL scores, graduation rates and chronic absenteeism, she pointed to an uptick in school accreditation — five division schools were newly accredited this year — major improvements in academic outcomes for English language learners and significant increases in teacher pay.

“I just think that there’s evidence that there’s been a lot of progress on the School Board,” she said. “I don’t think there’s one thing that has gotten worse.” 

She points to English language learner increases as a particular point of pride: Last week, RPS announced the on-time graduation rate for that group of students had risen 19% last year. 

Rizzi’s focus on English language learners and Latino students — two groups that in Richmond, with its growing Latino population, frequently overlap — goes back several years. She served on the division’s Commission on the Status of Latino Students in Richmond Public Schools after its creation in 2022. Recommendations from that group ultimately led to the establishment of a new Department of Multilingual Learner Success within RPS that has aimed to centralize services for English language learners. 

On the division’s infrastructure problems, she has said it’s critical for the General Assembly to increase funding, highlighting the findings of a 2023 state watchdog report that found the state underfunds K-12 education. 

“It is so frustrating to me when people show up and make comments about issues with our buildings, and they don't seem to recognize how very limited financially we are to addressing those types of things,” she said. “Our school buildings are aging more rapidly than we can keep up with maintenance and repair.” 

When it comes to Kamras, Rizzi hasn’t said definitively where she stands, but comments in the September forum and to The Richmonder indicate she’s leaning toward keeping him.

“As long as the superintendent is making progress towards the goals and is improving, they should stay as long as they deliver results,” she said this September. “Results to me are all that matter, and honestly, right now, all of the results are on the upswing.”