Richmond Public Schools will send a letter to the Virginia Board of Education requesting to be removed from an academic performance agreement both parties entered into back in 2017.

The Richmond School Board voted to send the letter, with three of the nine members opposing.

The agreement, known as the memorandum of understanding (MOU), requires that the division follows a corrective action plan to ensure that it meets the state’s education requirements set by the Board of Education. In order to be removed from the MOU, the city school system must have 100% of its schools accredited. About half of the schools in the division are fully accredited.

The letter contains information on the academic progress RPS has made, such as increasing the number of fully accredited schools from 19 to 24 since 2018, and student achievement growth in reading, writing, math and science ranging from 2% to 13% increases between 2021 and 2024. 

“As a result, we believe that continued state oversight is no longer necessary and formally request that the Virginia Board of Education lift the MOU,” the letter states. 

Newly appointed state Superintendent Emily Anne Gullickson said last week that the department had not yet received the letter, and is unable to respond until they have received the request.

During past discussions about the MOU, the state has been unsympathetic to complaints from the district.

School board member Shonda Harris-Muhammed (6th District) was among the dissenters. She emphasized that the reason why RPS was placed under the MOU was because the division had gone a consecutive number of years without being a fully accredited division. She expressed support requesting for a revision to the current MOU conditions, but not to be removed from it. 

“We have not met that main benchmark that is required for us to meet,” she said. “And that is to have all schools fully accredited.” 

Cheryl Burke (7th District) echoed Harris-Muhammed. She said that being under the MOU has brought forth state resources in previous years to help get the division to where it needs to be. Superintendent Jason Kamras clarified that the resources have not been direct funding, but rather technical assistance and support from the state’s Office of School Quality.  

“We have also received more compliance requirements as well,” he said. 

Kamras noted that neither Henrico, Chesterfield nor Fairfax counties have 100% of their schools fully accredited.

“I do think this is a bit of a double standard,” he said. “We have moved demonstrably in the right direction.”

All three dissenters, including Emmett Jafari (8th District), expressed appreciation for the efforts of the division. 

Supporters of requesting the removal argued that the MOU doesn’t do anything for the division. Stephanie Rizzi (5th District) said that she questions the reason for being under the MOU if the agreement doesn't come with any extra financial support. 

Matthew Percival (1st District) said that he is a “huge fan” of the division removing itself from the MOU and pointed to districts like Petersburg, which he said has been under an MOU for 20 years.

“Have they progressed? I don’t know,” he said.

He suggested that lowering the division’s Local Composite Index (LCI), a formula designed to determine each locality’s fiscal capacity to fund its own educational needs, would ultimately help the schools more than being under the MOU. That would allow RPS to receive more state funding.

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