RPS School Board Meeting - May 12, 2026

001Mhm. >> Mhm. >> Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> And now we'll have our translation services announcement. Good evening, everyone. On behalf of the language justice team, we welcome you. If you need interpretation from English to Spanish, to Spanish, please come see me. I will be at the table in the back with the interpreters. We have interpretation headsets for anyone who needs one. Interpretation in Spanish is also available for those watching this meeting through Zoom. I want to remind everyone to please speak at a normal pace and keep your face no more than a couple of inches away from the microphones so that our interpreters can hear you clearly. I

002will now make the same announcement in Spanish. Thank you. In the event of an emergency requiring the evacuation of the building during this meeting, the emergency alarm system will be activated. If this happens, all persons should immediately exit this room and go to the lobby where security staff will guide you to the east and west stairwells. Please don't use the elevators. All persons will exit on the first floor. After exiting the building, security will direct everyone across Ninth Street and down to the assembly area located at the downtown bus bus transfer station. Able-bodied persons should assist visually and hearing-impaired visitors with exiting the building. In case of an emergency >> Thank you so much. And now for 1.04 approve minutes of the April 13th and April 14th, 2026 school board meetings. Mr. Percival. Thank you,

003thank you, Madam Chair. I move that we approve the minutes of the April 13th, 2026 and April 14th, 2026 school board meetings. Second. It's been moved by Mr. Percival and seconded by Ms. Ricard. Madam Clerk. Mr. Percival. Yes. Ms. Ricard. Yes. Mr. Farooq. Yes. Mr. Hedgepeth. Yes. Ms. Rizzi. Yes. Ms. Holton. Yes. Ms. Burke. Yes. Mr. Jafari. Yes. Ms. Fernandez. Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. And now for the adoption of the agenda, Mr. Percival. Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that the school board of the city of Richmond adopt the agenda for the school board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 12th, 2026 as published. It's been moved by Mr. Percival and seconded by Mr. Jafari, Madam Clerk. Mr. Percival? Yes. Mr. McCard? Yes. Mr. Farooq? Yes. Mr. Hedgepeth? Yes. Ms. Rizzi? Yes. Ms. Holton? Yes.

004Ms. Burke? Go ahead. Oh, we we will Yeah. Yes. Mr. Jafari? Yeah. Ms. Fernandez? Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. And now for our very special section of the evening, our recognition. We are honored to have our student representative here who will be introduced by Mr. Cameras. Thank you, Madam Chair, and good evening, everyone. I'm delighted to introduce Joseph Lopez Campos from Richmond High School for the Arts. Joseph distinguishes himself through a sophisticated blend of academic excellence and student governance. Currently ranked ninth in his graduating class, Joseph is a member of the National Honor Society and a recipient of the Valle Adelante Scholarship, honors that reflect his consistent dedication to his studies and his future. A natural leader within his school community, Joseph has held several key roles, including junior class treasurer and currently senior class

005community service officer. His influence extends to the district level as a member of my advisory council, where he helps represent his peers' interests. Joseph also gained valuable professional insight through the Summer Odyssey Internship Program at Virginia Union University, further fueling his interest in leadership and systemic change. Joseph's personal life is characterized by a wide range of interests. He is an avid consumer of philosophy books and keeps a keen eye on the pulse of politics, pop culture, and fashion. This curiosity is balanced by an active lifestyle that includes trail running, tennis, and pickleball. In his quieter moments, Joseph enjoys cafe hopping, curating specialized playlists, and building Pinterest boards that reflect his evolving tastes in music and design. It is occurring to me that he has a more interesting life than I do. Upon graduation, Joseph will

006move on to the University of Rochester, where he intends to pursue a major in political science, philosophy, and economics with a minor in international relations. With a sharp intellect and a multifaceted understanding of the world, Joseph is prepared to navigate the complexities of global policy and contribute meaningfully to the future academic and political landscapes. And boy, do we need you. Please join me in welcoming Joseph Lopez Campos from Richmond High School for the Arts. Good evening, everyone. I just want to say thank you, Superintendent Cameras, for the introduction, and to Mr. Williams for approaching me about this lovely opportunity here. It allows me to advocate on an issue my colleagues and I would love to address. It is truly an honor to be here at this moment and represent the student voice. When I began

007my freshman year, I didn't really have any goals for my future self. Yeah. I began my freshman year, I didn't really have any goals for my future self. I knew I needed good grades to succeed somewhat and that I needed to graduate on time. But I still didn't know if college was the right fit for me or what exactly sparked my interest. Following my sophomore year, I experienced the so-called sophomore slump where I kept decent grades but didn't know what my purpose in being in school was. However, during the second semester of sophomore year, I had a moment of introspection where I realized that politics sparked my interest and that fulfilling my mother's driving force for leaving her homeland, country, El Salvador was for. For a better future and education for her children. I will

008later use this as my motivation for the remaining years of my time at Richmond High School for the Arts where I would mold myself into the student I am now. My junior year, I started joining clubs such as the first-ever student government association for Richmond High School for the Arts where I served as treasurer and began focusing on my classes and building my resume as the college admissions process would soon start. I think the consensus built around senior year of high school is that it is hectic and hectic it was. Having to balance AP classes, homework, senior activities, clubs, work after school, and on weekends and my social life was tough for someone who I hate to admit has an issue with time management. And having to add college and scholarship applications on top of

009that would soon create a burden on me. However, through a time of chaos, the Future center will become my best friend. A third space in which I could find the time I didn't know I had to dedicate my future, where I could work on my college applications and scholarship forms. When the RPS budget for the 2026-27 year was released, and I saw that the future center navigator roles were gutted from the budget plan, I was disheartened. Knowing how important our future center navigators are in guiding seniors towards their next steps after high school, I wondered what effect this would have on upcoming seniors across RPS. The future center played a massive role in navigating me through my college admissions process. I gained deeper insight and feedback on how to strengthen my applications to the institutions

010I would apply to, and I gained access to national and local scholarships. But the future center is isn't just for seniors who know college is their next step. It is also helpful for those who are left questioning, like I once was, what they want for their future self. Those who want to go straight into the workforce, join blue collar jobs, apply to trade schools, serve in our country's armed forces, etc. All of those resources are there available for us at our future centers across RPS high schools. For that, I say the dismantling of it is detrimental to our upcoming class of 2027 and so forward. In a moment in American politics, where current corrupt politicians and administrations are attacking minorities, ripping resources away from us daily, this is just another example of that. I feel

011our classmates are a victim of this, simply because we get our education publicly funded. So, the first generation students at RPS who have no knowledge or guidance at home how to approach this next chapter in life, will no longer be able to find it where they most expect it in our schools, resulting in hopelessness within our students and a loss of visionaries in in our communities. My experience here at RPS has been an eye-opener, one of one, one in which I'm grateful for the opportunities that have been presented to me over the past 3 years. I cannot I cannot leave feeling just knowing others will not be given the same resources that have been given to me and knowing there are current teachers worried about the uncertainty of our future centers. And to Mr. Robinson,

012who was the active coordinator of our future center at Richmond High School for the Arts, Mr. Alexia, who would come in occasionally as a college admissions counselor from VCU, I would like to thank you for your dedicated work and effort in helping me and current and past graduating classes on encountering this next step in life. Once again, thank you, Superintendent Chambers, for having me here and letting me speak. It was an honor, and thank you everyone for your time and consideration. You are an outstanding young man. Very well said. You gave us a lot to think about this evening, so thank you so much for your candor. In a second, we'll get some pictures from you, so if you could hold tight, okay? Um and if you have any uh friends, relatives, or those from

013Richmond High School for the Arts present, we would love you to be in the picture as well, so we'll share when that time comes. Next up, we will move to 2.02, a recognition of Early College Academy graduates. It'll be read by Ms. Ann Holton. Thank Thank you, Madam Chair. Tonight, we welcome graduates of the class of 2026 Early College Academy. This remarkable group of 10 students has graduated with both their high school diploma and their associate's degree. Most of these students earned a B average or higher, are working towards an advanced studies diploma, and completed challenging college classes while in high school. They have also They also earned more than 15 transferable college credits, qualifying them for the Governor's Early College Scholars designation. These students have been accepted to colleges and received many scholarships, including

014at least one full scholarship to the University of Virginia. Several students were also invited to join Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Theta Kappa, an honorary honor society for college students, and two students have taken on leadership roles. Please join us in congratulating the class of 2026 Early College Academy graduates. Forgive me if I get your names not perfect. I'll do my best. Michael Amare Ramos from Franklin Military Academy. Samira Anwari, John Marshall High School. David Avula, Franklin Military Academy. Diyemilatu Bow, Open High School. My alma mater. Jaden Harrington, Franklin Military Academy. Sonia Marquez, Franklin Military Academy. Zoe Medina, Richmond High School for the Arts. Carlos Melendez Linares, Franklin Military Academy. Kelly Saucedo A- Armstrong High School. And Daryl Vaughn, Franklin Military Academy. By embracing the challenges of a rigorous college-level curriculum, you have not only excelled

015academically, but have also demonstrated exceptional dedication and persistence. As you embark on the next chapter of your educational journey or venture into the professional world, remember to carry the spirit of excellence and determination that that brought you this far. The future holds boundless opportunities for you, and we have no doubt that you will seize them to invest in and uplift yourselves, your community, and all of Richmond. Thank you so much. And congratulations. And now we'll have 2.03 recognition of National Yale Initiative Fellows, Rabbi Mr. Percival. Thank you, Madam Chair. 2026 Yale National Fellows recognition, April 2026. We are thrilled to recognize our exceptional Richmond Public Schools educators who were selected as 2026 Yale National Fellows through the Yale National Initiative to strengthen teaching in public schools. As fellows, teachers collaborate with university scholars and educators

016nationwide to develop innovative curriculum units that enrich classrooms across our division. Please join us in celebrating the following fellows. Justin Baber, Richmond Virtual Academy. Christopher De Matteo, Thomas Jefferson High School. Eric Harris, Richmond Community High School. Stephanie Hooks, Bellevue Elementary School. Angel Johnson, Cardinal Elementary School. Amanda McMahon, Huguenot High School. Beth Sawyer, Bellevue Elementary School. And last but not least, the driving force behind this, Ms. Valerie Schwartz, Mary Munford Elementary School. Congratulations. Thank you. For item 2.04, we will defer this to a later date to ensure that we have a robust celebration of life. Moving right along to 2.05, receive proclamation for Mental Health Service Awareness Month. Royal, in the fourth grade at Bellevue Elementary School. Mental Health Awareness Month, May 2026. Whereas, Richmond Public Schools recognizes that mental health is essential to the well-being,

017academic success, and overall development of every student. And whereas, RPS is committed to fostering safe, supportive, and inclusive school environments where students and staff feel seen, heard, and empowered to seek support. And whereas, RPS counselors, social workers, psychologists, nurses, and educators play a critical role in promoting mental health awareness in schools. And whereas, through ongoing education, prevention efforts, and community partnerships, RPS works to reduce stigma, encourage open conversations, and prioritize the mental wellness of the entire school community. Now, therefore, may it be proclaimed that Richmond Public Schools recognizes May 2026 as Mental Health Awareness Month and encourages all schools and community members to join in this celebration. That was wonderful. It's like our children are growing All right. Moving right along to 2.06, receive proclamation for School Communicators Day. >> Hi, I'm Camilla and I'm

018from Bellevue Elementary in the fourth grade. School Communicators Day, May 8th, 2026. Whereas, Richmond Public Schools recognizes the essential role of school communicators in ensuring students, families, staff, and the community are informed, engaged, and connected. And whereas, RPS communicators use photography, videography, social media, and written content to elevate and celebrate our students and staff. And whereas, through platforms such as Parent Square, the RPS website, RPS Direct, and media relations, school communicators provide timely, accurate information, and foster transparency and trust across our community. And whereas, with creativity, strategy, and a deep commitment to service, RPS communicators strengthen community pride and ensure that love remains visible in all we share. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that Richmond Public Schools recognizes Friday, May 8th, 2026 as School Communicators Day and encourages all schools and community members to join

019in this celebration. Amazing. Wonderful. Uh moving on to 2.07, receive proclamation for School Nurses Week. Hi, I'm Harley Mercer Allen in fifth grade, and I go to Bellevue Elementary School. National Nurses Day, May 6th, 2026. National Nurses Week, May 6th through 12th, 2026. Whereas, Richmond Public Schools recognizes the vital role school nurses play in in supporting the health, safety, and academic success of all students. And whereas, RPS school nurses provide compassionate skilled care each day, addressing physical health need physical health needs, managing chronic conditions, responding to emergencies, and promoting overall wellness within our school communities. And whereas, through collaboration with families, staff, and community partners, school nurses have removed barriers to learning and ensure students are healthy, safe, and ready to thrive. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that Richmond Public Schools recognizes Wednesday, May 6,

0202026 as National School Nurse Day and May 6-12, 2026 as National Nurses Week. And calls upon all schools and community members to join in the celebration. Thank you so much. Before we move on to our next one, we have a very special guest in the house, Ms. Kayla Freeman, who is pre-prepared to share a few words with the board and the audience. So, if you could just give us a few moments to give her opportunity to speak. Come on to the podium. Hi everyone. I am Kayla Freeman, a student at Huguenot High School that graduated with the Early College Academy program today. And I just prepared a speech of my time there at ECA. My I mean, the impact that they left on me and that I was able to leave there and just want

021to say thank you for the investment y'all made in me to be able to complete this program. Over the past 2 years, Early College Academy program has played a major role in shaping my academic journey and preparing me for my future. Through this program, I was able to challenge myself academically while earning my associate's degree in social science and maintaining a 3.76 GPA. This experience taught me discipline, time management, leadership, and the importance of perseverance. One of the most meaningful parts of my journey here was being able to serve as the vice president of programming for Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, where my leadership role allowed me to grow personally and professionally while being able to plan social events for the city of Richmond and service events and support my fellow students. It has

022strengthened my communication and my leadership skills and showed me the value of teamwork and community involvement. The Early College Academy program also shaped countless doors for me and my classmates. Together, our cohort is received numerous college acceptances and academic offers, which shows the dedication and hard work of everyone involved in this program. Personally, I was accepted into 58 colleges and received 97 academic offers. These These opportunities reminded me that efforts and sacrifices made through this journey and trials and tribulations were completely worthwhile. Because of the strong foundation of this program that that y'all have invested in me, I was awarded a full ride scholarship to attend Coppin State University, where I plan to major in nursing. Also, over the summer, I will go back to J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College to earn my EKG certification,

023the electrocardiogram certification, and continue building my health care experience and prepare me for my future career. Overall, the Early College Academy has enriched my life in many ways. It gives me confidence in my abilities, expose me to college-level expectations so I'm prepared for when I do leave, and prepare me to succeed in higher education. Most importantly, it showed me that with hard work, support, and determination, I can accomplish all of my goals. Thank you for your time. Well, well, well. Miss Kayla, we will uh not soon forget you. Thank you so much for your amazing contribution. Um and just um Mom, I'm sure you are absolutely proud. In just a few moments, once we get uh finished, we would love to have a picture with you all if you could stick around for maybe a

024couple of minutes. Thank you so much. All right, we're going to move next to 2.08. Thank you. Receive proclamation for National Speech, Language, Hearing Month. My name is Amir. I'm in fifth grade at Bellevue Elementary School. National Speech, Language, Hearing Month, May 2026. Whereas, Richmond Public Schools recognizes the essential role communication plays in a student's academic success, social development, and overall well-being. Whereas, speech language pathologists and audiology audiology professionals support students by addressing speech, language, and hearing needs, removing barriers, and ensuring equitable access to learning. And whereas, speech, language, and hearing professionals collaborate with educators, families, and support us and support staff to create inclusive environments for all students. And whereas, through prevention and early intervention the and ongoing support, these dedicated professionals strengthen connections across our school communities. Now, therefore, it will be proclaimed

025that Richmond Public Schools recognizes May 2026 as National Speech, Language, and Hearing Month. And calls upon all schools and community members to join us in this celebration. Thank you. And now we move to 2.09, receipt proclamation for School Lunch Hero Week. Hi, my name is Taj in the fourth grade at Bellevue Elementary School. School Lunch Hero Day, May 1st, 2026. Whereas, School Lunch Hero Day recognizes the excellent work of all RPS School Nutrition Professionals who serve our students with love each day. And whereas, these team members play a vital role in supporting student well-being by providing constant access to nutritious meals that fuel academic growth, physical health, and overall success. And whereas, beyond the cafeteria, school nutrition staff foster meaningful connections with students, contribute to a welcoming school environment, help elevate a student's voice through

026initiatives that reimagine school meals. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that Richmond Public Schools recognizes Friday, May 1st, 2026 as School Lunch Hero Day, and encourages all schools and community members to join in this celebration. And last, but certainly not least. >> So, if we normalize NPS, And last, but certainly not least, we introduce 2.10, receive proclamation for the amazing teacher appreciation week. Hi, my name is Savannah Walker. I'm in fourth grade and I go to Bellevue Elementary. National Teacher Appreciation Week, May 4th through May 8th, 2026. Whereas, Richmond Public Schools most recognizes that teachers are the heartbeat of our schools, inspiring curiosity, nurturing potential, and guiding students to what limitless possibilities. And whereas, our PS teachers go above and beyond each day sparking imagination, building meaningful relationships, and creating learning experience that launch students towards

027bright futures. And whereas, their dedication, creativity, and care by teachers remind us that learning has no limits. And whereas, during Teacher Appreciation Week, we celebrate that our PS teachers are out of this world and help our students shine like stars, bringing our mission to teach with love to life every single day. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that Richmond Public Schools recognizes May 4th through May 8th, 2026 as National Teacher Appreciation Week, encourages everyone to join in on this celebration. All right, and now it's time to take some pictures. So, first we will have our student representative, followed by Miss Kayla Freeman and family. And if there's anyone um that is represented here, if you have any family here, please come forward at this time. If there's anyone from Richmond High School of the Arts, please

028feel free to come forward at this time as well. Kayla and family, can y'all come on up for a photo? >> If there are any other early college academy graduates present that would like to come up and take a photo. Okay. Okay, National Yale Initiative fellows. >> Are there any RPS counselors, social workers, psychologists for mental health awareness? How about school nurses? Are there school nurses? Come on down, please. Could we have the Okay. Communications team come forward, please. Are there any speech language pathologists or audiology professionals? Yes, come on down, please. >> Could any school nutrition staff please come forward if you're here? Come on, school nutrition staff. Yeah, come on down. Okay, last but not least, teachers for teacher appreciation week. No, no teachers? Oh, we got to have at least one. >>

029All right, and now we will move forward to announcements 3.01. Who wants to start off? Mr. Hixbeth. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh first off, I wanted to thank the outstanding wellness team who came and uh spoke at the uh April PTAC meeting at Southampton Elementary. So, thank you to Chief Parks and her team for coming and representing RPS very well. Very appreciative of of you all. Um the next iteration of that will be virtual um this uh next Wednesday, uh which is the 20th of May at 5:30. And that's for PTAC, the Parent Teacher Advisory Council. All are welcome. If you um don't already follow me on socials or have my newsletter, you can always email me if you'd like to come. I can share you uh the that information. Um last week, a number

030of us had the privilege of uh being around some uh of the very best and brightest speaking of teachers at the ELA high school teachers appreciation dinner. Um and then that um Mr. Farouk and uh Mr. Card were were uh among the group as well. And I just wanted to thank uh Ms. Angela Moore for uh celebrating the teachers. Um uh they deserve it, and you did a great job of celebrating them. So, thank you for for that. Um then finally, um as in addition to all of the graduations that are coming up, Lucille Brown Middle School is having its moving on ceremony on Thursday, May 28th at 5:30 up and we look forward to seeing you there. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Ms. Burke. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am so elated today.

031I was able to attend the annual Armstrong High School senior luncheon, which takes place annually at a museum in the city. We've had uh the Black History Museum, Black History Museum of Virginia. Today, the event, as it was last year, was at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture on Arthur Ashe Boulevard. Please excuse me. This was an opportunity to be on flight 3.0, which means in order to attend this beautiful catered tablecloth, floral arrangements luncheon, you had to have not a 2.8 or 2.9, but a 3.0 and beyond. When this started under the leadership of the former principal, Dr. Willie Bell, we started with 10 students. Today, my colleagues, we celebrated 54 scholars. And to hear where they're going and what they're going to do was is amazing. I learned something new and kudos

032to Richmond Public Schools. I did not know that we had a program in place to hire students to be to work in Newport News at the shipyards, but they can go to college also. So, many of them said, "I'm going to do the apprenticeship." I said, "What do you Apprenticeship where?" But I'm so pleased. They are college bound. They are ready to move the next step and then some. Many thanks to um Principal Carter and also the head school counselor, Dr. Ward, and we were the each student was celebrated by dignitaries in the city. From the um general assembly to the city level to the school board level, and of course persons, elected officials in the area, and Richmond Public Schools administration. So, well done. That's why I have my Armstrong pin on. This was

033my husband's pin. So, may the flight continue to success for Armstrong High School. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Ricard. I'm sorry, Ms. Rizzi. All right, thank you. Um first I want to shout out on um May 6th um I stood congratulate and and greet people uh during the RPS Walk and Bike to School Day. Um it was really exciting to see the bike buses arrive with all of our little children who are you know, strapped in with their helmets. Um and um it was super cute to watch. So, I mean, you know, like 20 kids showing up on bikes, that's super exciting to like and and watch them lock their bikes and you know, the routine that they have with um regularly biking to school is amazing. Um that was a district-wide event, so that

034was um really great to participate in. Um Ms. Ricard and I, and I don't know if you were going to announce this, Ms. Ricard, um attended the Career and Technical Education Recognition Night. That's where we celebrated the excellence of our CTE programs and the wonderful achievements of our incredible students. It was a really great event. And, you know, the things that our students are doing in CTE, really, I mean, I don't think that they're amplified enough. So, this was a good time to do that. Uh we on April 22nd had a screening of Multiple Choice, which is a documentary that focuses on what uh is happening in Winchester County, but it also is a great starting point as we begin to have discussions about reimagining our CTE programs at RPS. Um and then I have

035a few upcoming events. On May 16th, Swansboro Elementary will be hosting Spring into Good Health and Wellness. The entire community is invited. Uh and that will be from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Uh Open High School will have a play performance at 6:00 p.m. on May 26th, and that will be at Clark Springs Elementary. And then the Valentine Museum will be opening an exhibit on June 4th, titled Building a City: Richmond Landmarks. And that was where students were invited to select, research, and create models of some of Richmond's most iconic landmarks. And I am hearing the models are incredibly impressive and elaborate. Um and that the research that went into them um was like the pinnacle of scholarship. And so, that exhibit will actually be open at the Valentine from June 4th. It will stay

036there until May 31st. So, there's plenty of time to go there and check that exhibit out. And that's it. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Jeffari. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh no moving announcements. Here in the Vincent 8th District, the mighty mighty 8th District. South of the James, where the sun always shines. At Broad Rock, they will be having field day on the 28th. They will be doing the moving on ceremonies and you may want to check if you're from the 8th District. This year they're having the moving on ceremony is over at the Southside Community Center off of Warwick Old Warwick Road. So again, check your list and check it twice. Uh at Blackwell, they're having field day on May 28th and their moving on ceremonies are It appears it will be on the 27th

037of May. At Blackwell, excuse me, at Boushall, uh they're going to have a Funland trip that they're taking on the 26th. 8th grade formal is on the 27th. The moving on ceremony is on the 28th. And movie day is on the 29th. At Summer Hill, and I've been waiting for this one for a couple of months now, they're going to have their pre-K prom a couple of days from now on the 14th. Uh Madam Chair, if I could, I I just wanted to wind this up. Uh it's a a tremendous honor to be here like this and to have not just been a native of the city, but a prodigal Richmond Public Schools, uh a cradle for history here. There There's always been some history here. Uh not all of it gets the best publicity,

038but my even being here is evidence that RPS, stay in the seat and listen to the teachers and you can get where you need to be. But I'm extremely happy that we've had some Virginia sons. And amongst those Virginia sons were people who basically they they stepped outside of box. They didn't do what was expected of them. And so one of those was the father, the dad of my colleague Ms. Anne Holton here. Everybody expected that Governor Linwood Holton would take his children to some private school somewhere, but he didn't. He took his eldest Taylor right across the John F. Kennedy High School and as they say the rest is history. But again, he's an example of of individuals that are unheralded but they stepped outside of the box and they made a difference. Uh

039next month, my colleagues permitting, I will have another proclamation for one of those unheralded Virginia sons. Thanks, Madam Chair. Thank you. Ms. Holton. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Mr. Jafari, for those kind words. Uh so much going on um and um I won't try to highlight everything, but I wanted to comment on a number of us had the opportunity to uh attend the Communities in Schools 30th birthday gala and celebration honoring the retirement uh of Harold Fitrer, who many of us know and love through his many, many roles he's served in in RPS over the years. And I know Mr. Hedgepeth, Mr. Percival, uh Ms. Ricard, Ms. Rizzi, Mr. Farouk, Mr. Ramirez, and I'm not sure who else were all able to go to that really wonderful, wonderful celebration at the Science Museum.

040Uh Mr. Fitrer, we love you and will miss you. But something tells me you won't go very far. We'll keep you We'll keep you in the family somehow. Um um I also wanted to um highlight an exciting um opportunity I had today to join the first gentleman, uh um Governor Spanberger's husband, um Adam Spanberger, for learn to ride a bike at for a a learned learn to ride event at Oak Bellmead Elementary School. Um And the Fit for Kids folks who helped organize bike to school last week helped put this event on and we we got to help Miss Parks joined us there. We got to help watch the Fit for Kids staff teach 20 30 second graders how to ride a bike and this is just an extraordinary program and I'm just so proud

041that RPS is teaching our students important life skills like that and it was an uplifting event. And finally, I'll just mention that tomorrow morning, I'm very excited that we we I will to have the opportunity to attend, I know with many others here the kickoff launch event of the Virginia Business K-12 Park Partnership. This is a Virginia Chamber of Commerce initiated project. The Chamber and the business community in Virginia have always been very supportive of early childhood education and higher education. They've been great advocates, but they haven't had quite the umph and push on honoring and raising up and advocating for K-12 education. And this new partnership is designed to address just that and I think they will be great partners in particular in helping us advocate for more investment from the state in our

042students. There was an op-ed in the Richmond Times-Dispatch yesterday, I believe, or maybe Sunday about the event. If you haven't had a chance to read it, check into that and or join us at the kickoff event tomorrow morning at the ACE Center in at Hermitage. Thank you. Mr. Farooq. Thank you, Madam Chair. I also was honored to attend the Communities in Schools celebration with my colleagues and it's always a really important reminder that it takes a village and an important member of our village is Communities in Schools that not only their staff who are in many of our schools including my son both my son's schools but also like the way they leverage the parents the community volunteers even people in the community who don't have children but are interested in giving back to our

043schools. Real quick I'll just make an announcement that I'll be attending both the Battery Park Civic Association meeting and the Rosedale Civic Association meeting on Tuesday June 9th so for Northside residents that live in either of those neighborhoods you can catch me at those neighborhood association meetings and finally I just want to thank all the staff at John Marshall High School in Richmond Public Schools and elsewhere because this past weekend on Saturday morning we celebrated the life of Zion and Sadie Terry it was heartbreaking it was beautiful it was hard and there were lots of emotions and it's sadly not new for the John Marshall family we lost a student as soon as I got elected to the school board and so there is a lots of things that can be said but these are

044not unavoidable tragedies these are things that happen that don't happen as often in other countries but I just want to lift up the John Marshall family the leadership the staff the students the community members that came and mourned and celebrated together and really appreciate Mr. Matt Percival who attended with us Mr. Camera's who is there all the board members who sent their thoughts and prayers Mayor Avula who made time to attend as well as Councilwoman Kenya Gibson so thank you Madam Chair. Thank you. Ms. Ricard Thank you Madam Chair. Um I just wanted to recognize three things. Um first of all, um earlier in the towards the end of April, I got to attend the slam poetry event that was put on um with help from Ms. Angela Moore organized it with her English high

045school English teachers and supported by Dr. Bell. Podium worked with the students to create slam poetry, and it was just really powerful to hear them speak their truths um in that event. And so, I really appreciate these opportunities for our kids to our students to challenge themselves, maybe do something that's a little uncomfortable, but also really own the space and feel that their voice can be heard in that. Um I wanted to just mention that tonight, and I I believe it's probably over. Um and although the Fox Elementary Rockies did not make it, uh fortunately, there was the elementary baseball finals tonight with the Oak Grove Dodgers and the Fisher Fillies. So, congrats to those two teams. I checked Instagram just now, the winner has not been announced. Um but, I do just want to

046thank um Stephanie Ramsey. This was a new program. I know she worked tirelessly to find fields in the city for our kids, and I think there's hopes to make that easier next year. But, um it was a great program. I got to see on three separate occasions the Fox Rockies leaving and boarding their bus, and there was just a lot of excitement. And also, thank you to the coaches who stepped up to do that. And then, um I know it's SOL time right now, and today was the fifth-grade math SOL. So, I was hearing all about that in our household as we have a fifth-grader, and um I know it is a stressful time, and I know our students and teachers have worked really hard for this moment and I just wanted to thank them

047for all of that. I know in the schools I've been in there's been a lot of excitement on how our students are doing and of course that's a testament to our teachers and their hard work. Thank you. Mr. Hispath. Thank you Madam Chair. I apologize I had forgotten one announcement from before but last week I also had the privilege of attending the freshman new freshman orientation at Huguenot High School where they were welcoming the class of 2030. And there were a lot of families there very excited and so thank you to Dr. Massa and the Huguenot staff for providing such a welcoming environment to the families but families that weren't able to make it there's another opportunity in the fall so please pay attention to parent square and to Huguenot's very healthy Instagram presence and

048they will most most certainly guide you to to that opportunity. So thank you Madam Chair for that last last second. Mr. Percival. Thank you Madam Chair. Two announcements this evening. This past Saturday I had the distinct honor and privilege to deliver a few brief opening remarks at our Blooming with Brilliance Breakfast where we recognized 100 valedictorians, salutatorians, scholastic standouts and Maggie Walker Community Award winners. The students ranged from preschool to high school across all of RPS. It was a high energy in the room. It was absolutely wonderful to be there. My other announcement is this Saturday Uh, will be attending the VCU Health Shining Knight Gala. The Shining Knight Gala in the spirit of celebrating those who make a difference in each of our lives. Our personal Shining Knight honor will let you honor EMS

049providers, nurses, physicians, community members, and more. To support VCU Health, our honoree is our very own principal of Mary Munford, Mr. Greg Music. Sorry. One more announcement. I'm going to take a personal privilege and thank Mrs. Percival tonight for sharing me with the board and the community as it is our 19th wedding anniversary. And she is at home cooking dinner for the kids by herself. So, thank you, Mrs. Percival. Take you out to dinner tomorrow. Happy anniversary. And you're the one that normally cooks, so I think this is going to be a special treat for you tonight, right? Um, I just have a few uh um announcements. Um, first, uh J.L. Francis will have their fifth grade dance. Um, that's coming up. I didn't write down the dates, so I need to go and look

050that back up. Give me a second here. It's going to be this Friday, um the 15th, uh from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at River City Middle School. Um, so J.L. Francis will be having their dance. If you can come out and support, we would love to see you all the the J.L. Francis family there. We'll also have the Culinary Open House that'll take place at Cardinal Elementary from 4:00 to 6:00. Um, that's coming up here um shortly as well. It is on May 20th, um from 4:00 to from 4:00 to 6:00. I'd also like to take um opportunity to share um some announcements for um, Councilwoman Nicole Jones. She's uh, presenting an awesome event called the Art of Memory. The Art of Memory is an immersive, uh, intergenerational program honoring aging as a living embodied

051art form. So, seniors 55 and over will experience memory as something that could be supported, nourished, and respected. That's also happening on May 15th, um, from um, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Southside Community Center. Um, if you can join, um, we would love to have you. Um, and just a quick reminder that, um, Councilwoman Nicole Jones' um, monthly town hall will be on Thursday, May 21st at 6:00 p.m. That will also be at Southside Community Center. The topics of discussion will be Family Justice Center. Um, as we all know, the the rise in um, domestic violence has been increased, unfortunately, um, and all over the news. And so, we're going to get some information about, um, those services from YWCA. And, uh, Collette McEachin will also be there, the Commonwealth's Attorney. We would love

052to have you there. Um, and I too want to extend our thoughts and prayers to the Terry family. I had opportunity to sit down with her, um, about a week or so ago and just share. And I wanted to take this time to express her gratitude to the RPS community. She was absolutely overwhelmed by the love and the support that she's received, not just from the board and the superintendent, but the administration and the community leaders, the principals as a whole. And so, on behalf of the Terry family, thank you very much for the support that you provided during this um unimaginable time uh and difficulty. As we know, um not only is domestic violence on the rise, but unfortunately, too many of our our children and families have been have succumbed to um you

053know, injuries and death by gun violence. And so, it's a a hard reminder for us to continue to advocate for those around us um so that we can, you know, once we celebrated Mr. Zion um just in February, and now he is no longer with us. Um there's a scripture that says life is but a vapor. And so, you blink and it's gone. And so, just continue to hold your loved ones closer um because we don't know what tomorrow brings. But while we are here, we will continue to advocate for our students because that is what they desperately deserve. With that, we will transition. Now, we will move to public information. Madam Clerk, if you could share the guidelines, please. Conduct of speakers. Speakers shall state their full legal name prior to addressing the school

054board. Speakers will address the school board as a whole rather than individual board members, the division superintendent, school board attorney, clerk, or any other staff member. The school board will listen to comments, but will not respond during the public information period. Persons appearing before the school board will not be allowed to one, campaign for office, two, promote private business ventures, or three, use profanity or vulgar language. If a community member's comments during the public information session relate to school-based issues, the chair may refer that individual to RPS's administration for one-on-one consultation and follow-up. It is important that all community members who wish to participate in the public information period abide by the guidelines set forth in this policy. Refusal to abide by this policy will result in the forfeiture of the remaining time that has

055been allotted to the speaker. Community members may express their views in writing in lieu of any oral presentation. Comments received in writing in lieu of an oral presentation will not be read during the meeting, but shall be posted to the school board platform BoardDocs. Thank you. We do have um nine pre-registered speakers, and so we will uh call your name in order of the Whoever comes to the podium first, please just remember to sign the clipboard and before you um uh move into your speech, please um acknowledge by sharing your name with us. On our list for pre-registered speakers on this evening, we have first um Mariah White, Jacqueline uh Johnson-Wilson, Shalita Gaskins-Sally, and Cal Mendez. We'll call you up four at a time. Good evening, Madam Chair and school board. I'm come My name

056is Mariah White. I just forgot. I am a parent in Richmond Public Schools. I have two children in Richmond Public Schools. Tonight, I'm coming to talk about something that really concerned me last night when I was at the City Council meeting. Um I heard about the vote, I guess the 62 vote for the Richmond Virtual Academy. Um I also heard from some of the City Council saying that the superintendent had came down there and said that the money was not needed any longer. Also heard from one of the council members, Ms. Trimble, Reva Trimble, who said that the children needed to go back into the classroom because a school board member stated that. And I just had some questions cuz I was really concerned because I wanted to know how does a board of nine

057members decide for a whole community in Richmond? Our children are getting set up because we know due to this school setbacks, emotional stress, and social disruptions. We also have administration placements uh that's being put there. And I listened to the students last night. We had students there. They articulated very well. We had parents in tears because our the Virtual Academy is closing. I just want you to think about it as a board. Did we do everything that we needed to do before closing this school? Did we go after the funds from maybe looking in the RPS Foundation? Did we downsize the school? Sixth District, did you go to Hillside Court, bail me to tell the parents cuz that's they mostly over Southside that they won't be going RBA any longer. That's why I'm here today.

058I'm going to always be here and support these kids whether I'm on the board or not. I heard what Mr. Jarfy said, historic legend. I'm a historic legend also. I was in the 1973 when they bust us from Carver to Fisher. So, that was black to white school, but nobody knows that story. And I stand before you to say that this school is needed. It would if they are not there, it probably increase suspension, absence, dropouts. We don't need a setback. We were on a comeback at that time. There is no need to shut this school down. And I'm not sure how that happened saying that we don't really need the money with a 62 vote. And RBA doesn't even need a building. Every student have a Chromebook. They have staff. I'm not sure if

059that's the staff that you want there, but they have staff. They going back into the school. That's not going to eliminate the absentees. That's not going to eliminate the dropouts. It's not that many um staff members there in that school. Justafide have over 600 in their virtue. And Wyco has over 500. We downsized ours when I was on the school board here. We put a cap on it. And I heard that um sixth district said to Virginia Chambers tomorrow partnership. Maybe you can ask for a little funds there when you're there tomorrow. Because we need this RVA school. Every child learns different. My child learns different. And if any of you have children up here, they learn different. So I'm not sure how anyone cuz the two could say, "We don't need this school." We

060needed it at COVID and we still need it now. Just take a look at this school before you decide that you're going to close it. It was even granted by the Department of Education. >> Why would we close something that we put so much effort in? I know we had COVID funds, but it's not going to cost that much. 1% of your budget and you're ready to close the school. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Kyle Mendez and I'm the guitar teacher at Franklin Military Academy. Um I'm here tonight to talk about our insurance and vision coverage. Now while I could spend my 3 minutes lambasting the board and turning my energies toward criticism, I'm sure you've enjoyed enough of that in this past year. I truly think that our biggest issue at hand

061is um poor communication between all parties. So tonight, I want to communicate our frustrations as clearly as possible while giving credit where credit is due. Financial decisions are complex and the decisions you make are not easy. Um especially considering the original proposal of 50/50 with the insurance increase, we do appreciate the support we have received from the board to at least bring ourselves to a 75/25 split. This shows us that our voices and our livelihood are being considered, but I must ask, is it too late to keep going? Is there really wiggle room in the budget to pay for third-party substitute companies but not our own employees' health care. At the Finance and Audit Committee meeting the other week, I learned that for the past 5 years, RPS has taken on 100% of the increase

062in costs for insurance premiums. While this figure is noble at face value, I'd like to point out another statistic brought up in the very same meeting. 90% of RPS's total insurance costs come from claims alone, and not from the per employee cost of insurance. >> insurance. Claims, not premiums. When I looked into what these claims could be, I'm pointed toward an abundance of hypertension, lung-related illness, and long-term disease claims. Now, I'm no doctor, but having substituted and performed at many of our schools, I can see clear cause and effect. Teachers who have planning periods taken away from them for yet another meeting that could have been an email. Custodians who have to walk from one mold-infested classroom to another. Counselors and lead teachers who are stuck in so many meetings per day, they don't have

063the opportunity to walk around and even stretch their legs. It seems to me that if we want to save money on insurance, we should start by investing in things that directly affect our employees' physical and mental health, such as unencumbered planning periods, proper infrastructure, and whatnot. When I first joined 4 years ago, I would get the RPS Direct from the superintendent every week, and I loved it. Though I may play cool now, I still do enjoy reading them. But since that first year, the message of "We love you here" has fallen on deaf ears. And by the way, those deaf ears aren't going to hear any better without proper insurance. We read the words, we see the photos, but we do not feel like we are being invested in. 30 seconds. >> don't feel loved

064here. Our goal is to attract and retain high-quality teachers, so I ask, how do we attract those teachers in one hand, while in the other hand we're cutting vision insurance, forcing teachers to take a pay cut, uh allowing teachers to teach in buildings with obvious health hazards. I ask of you tonight, please consider reconsidering maintaining the same level of insurance for the upcoming year and also keep vision insurance with our plan. Thank you very much. Thank you. Good evening, school board. Dr. Jacqueline Johnson back again. Okay. School board, I sincerely thank you for the work you've been doing. You have the weight of a very consequential decision on your hands. Respectfully, it appears you are taking the welfare of our most vulnerable more seriously than the superintendent did. I assume many of you are parents.

065Last night at your work session, I heard the superintendent say that he would welcome RVA students back. I kind of say no, thank you. Previously, you heard testimonies of parents who had to mark their child's diaper to prove the child was being left in a wet diaper much of the day. Another mother said she would go to truancy court before she allowed her child to be mistreated in that way. My son went in person and we weren't in person for very long before COVID hit. He was picked up from school by his sister. She called me in horror and disgust. She ultimately had to throw out his pants because he was brought to the car in a soiled diaper with poop running out of his diaper down his leg. That was under your watch, Mr.

066Kamras. Shout out to my son now. He's a big boy. Your staff will be responsible for changing diapers, wiping snotty noses, and making sure kids are sent home in coats during freezing weather. You will in essence become mom. These are areas in which you have failed in the past and likely are still failing. We are not going to truancy court. We're not going to truancy court. We're going to child protective services because that is child neglect. The Virtual Academy was the bright spot of COVID. Dr. Robinson and her team swam upstream to keep RVA a vibrant learning space. Do you really want to remove these children from their least restrictive environments and put these burdens, as some would call them, on the classroom? I do it because I love my child. Again, least restrictive environment

067is federally protected. You are absolutely illegally exposed in this and other areas of IDEA if these students are first forced to return in person. Your consist constituents have spoken and based on a poll at City Council last night, there are no objections from the community towards RBA. We've made some great allies down in City Council since we were forced to go there. I really hope and pray you make the decision to fund Richmond Virtual Academy. Thank you. Ashelita Sally comes forward, I'll also call forward Emma Clark, Andrea Bryant. Good evening, everyone. School board, thank you for having me. Ashelita Sally, London Sally's mother. Father couldn't be here today. Um but I'm here as a parent with um severe >> Is the microphone on? I'm sorry. >> Hello, can you hear me? Okay. Okay, just speak

068a little bit closer. Speak >> Ashelita Sally. Thank you. Here representing my son, London Sally. His father couldn't be here today. I did decide to bring a script, which I'm glad I did because that last one was really emotional, and I hope that you all felt that like Okay, anyway. All right, so I'm here as a parent of a child with a severe physical and social disability. And I really need everyone to understand what the ritual Richmond Virtual Academy means to families like us. For some of our kids, regular school is just not an option. So, RBA gives them a safe place to learn while still while still allowing them to feel connected to school and other people. I just want to say real quick I'm emotional because of what Justice Mom said. But the

069soiled diapers, like soiled diapers. I don't want to waste my time, but let me >> I'm going to get emotional, man. It didn't happen to my kid, but just to to think that my son even our son you know, if that was him just for even a day this is really hard to hear. Like, I was not even emotional until I heard that again and just thinking about the other little girl who was you know, who had mother said she ran out in the cold and she was in a diaper and no coat. Like you guys don't have special needs kids, so you don't know like just the horror of even your kid for like even 2 hours by themselves and just pray that people would take care of them. And to hear that it's

070not happening. And then to hear that my son will probably have to go to school and it won't and this won't this won't happen. I know it will. I heard the horror stories when he was in pre-K. So, I'm just hoping that this doesn't happen, but let me just really try to finish get through the rest of this. So I got tired of fighting to a point where I was really ready to just settle for homebound because I felt defeated, but I had to think about what homebound would really mean for my child and it would completely remove him and isolate him from social interactions that the virtual learner has provided. So, the last time we were here, we heard London heard London London heard his teacher's voice and he immediately reacted by expressing because

071he knew he would he thought he was in school. So, he does associate virtual academy with the school. So, I just want you all to know that. So taking this program away would isolate our children even more and cause further harm and I'm not sure what can be done about that, but I'm just really hoping that you know, my kid doesn't have to go to school where he's the same bathroom all day. Especially in this climate because no one's safe when things like that begin to happen and And not me talking about myself. I'm just considering other people who are unhinged. I work for child support enforcement. People are unhinged, they will retaliate, and I just don't want to see that happen. So, I'm hoping that someone will make sound decision. If not, repurpose your

072budget. Do something in which you can somehow include this in. You know, eliminate some things. I don't know. But, thank you for listening. Thank you. Ms. Clark. Hi, good evening. My name is Emma Clark, and I'm speaking as a resident of the fourth district. During the pandemic, a lot of workers realized that working from home is not only effective for them, but really the best possible model. Simultaneously, some families learned that virtual learning was actually a more effective way for their child to learn. Virtual learning is new, and it's to be expected that some people have reservations. But, the reality is that virtual learning is here to stay. The question is not, will RPS offer a virtual model? The question is, what model will RPS offer? And I'm here to say that a model that

073is homegrown, that is adaptive and innovative as we learn more about virtual learning, that has shown excellent engagement, and has absolutely glowing reviews from the families and students it serves, is unequivocally a better choice than spending money on something like Virtual Virginia, which loses us students, money, state dollars, and community trust. Dr. Robinson is an exceptional principal, and she has worked with her team to create three different models for RVA with different costs and goals. I highly encourage you all to meet with her so that she can share these with you in detail. I want to say that I'm concerned about the way the administration has handled the funding situation for RVA. The superintendent went to city council and quite literally advocated against funding for RVA by saying it wasn't necessary, and even going so

074far as to say it isn't best practice. Whatever the superintendent feels personally, the school board voted to add RVA back to the budget, and it is his job to advocate for that budget. This is an issue of democratic governance. I also think it's important that we not undermine the testimony of our own parents and students because they are the experts in their own individual experiences. I see that tonight you all are considering allowing the administration the authority to do budget transfers, hiring, and contract approvals over the summer. I understand some of that is normal, but contract approval is not. You all do contract approvals every month and are meeting every month this summer. Why does this the superintendent need this authority? Many questions remain about the budget and how we ended up with such a

075huge budget hole this year. We are really hoping that you all will be looking at budget practices more closely and spending decisions at this time, not less. Next year RPS is roughly 25K to spend per student compared to 19 for Henrico and 17 for CCPS. This is appropriate and it accounts for the differences in gap groups such as students affected by poverty. However, it does not explain why we are in a massive budget hole this year while they are making new investments. It also isn't explained by saying they're getting a higher increase next year because percentage-wise ours is the highest. It also isn't explained by saying we aren't getting sufficient increase next year because our increase is sufficient significantly higher than our 10-year average. We are always underfunded by the state. It is a very

076serious problem, but what I want to understand is what was so different about this year specifically, and I don't feel that we've really gotten to the bottom of that. I'd also like to know how the decision was made for the Ed Fund to pursue dollars for the future centers. All money for RPS is a good thing. We're always welcome to happy to see it. However, I do want to know if we asked the Ed Fund for their help with finding dollars for the items that are in the budget like the RBA Virtual Academy. Uh last year when the administration cut the library book budget in half, he told you all that he would find Thank you. Thank you. As Ms. Bryant comes forward, we'd also like to ask for Lisa DeLeo, Amanda Hugerich, and Adam

077Rose to come forward as well. Good evening. Good evening, y'all. Uh, this has been a whirlwind of a school year. Um My name is Andrea Bryant. I am REA president. I am also a proud teacher and eighth grade chair at Lucille Brown Middle School. And as Mr. Hedgepeth mentioned, our eighth grade moving on ceremony is coming up soon and our dance is actually on Friday. Um, and I'm excited to host this usual. Um I hope that everyone is doing well. As we move toward the end of the school year, I just want to share some thoughts as we close out the this time. First, the current school the current schedule for the school board meetings leaves some room for improvements. While I understand that it may be convenient for members of the board and or

078members of the administration, it creates situations where information and or decisions are crammed into a short amount of time. It also creates a situation where decisions are expected in one night and a request for feedback leads to pushing a topic back by an entire month or more. It also it would be amazing if the board moved back to having meetings on a bi-weekly schedule. This would allow a decent amount of time for feedback and thoughtful processing of proposals by the administration and stakeholders. This year has just been a lot. I hope that as we move to forward toward the 2026-2027 school year, we work intentionally to increase collaboration and really commit to the work of making our schools wonderful places to work and learn. And considering this ideal, I hope that the school board and

079administration are truly evaluating the RPS controlled conditions of students and staff in RPS, including mentally, physically, and emotionally. Many workers are struggling with supervisors and administrators who are putting who are meeting their needs and struggles with punitive measures instead of coaching and support. This creates an atmosphere of tension and stress that profoundly affects our students. Some staff members are living in fear of gotcha moments. If our model emphasizes doing all things with love, we have to make sure that this is reinforced from the top down. From communicating effectively to listening actively, all staff should feel surrounded with love and feel poured into. This This empowers the staff to pour encouragement into the students, focus on instruction, process data, and truly push the needle of academic achievement, and support the overall enrichment of our students. Lastly,

080RVA is important to our to many of our students in RPS. Please work together to determine how money could be shifted to support the maintenance of RVA. This school could also support many more students who struggle in the buildings. Homebound and home-based are supposed to be temporary programs. Virtual Virginia doesn't support struggling students. They expect focused on grade level readers. RVA supports all kinds of students throughout the entire year. I hope you guys have a great end of your school year, and I hope you consider what we're all saying. Thank you. Is there anyone that is uh called out for pre-registration still here? >> Good evening. Good evening everyone. My name is Adam Rose. I thank the board for your continued advocacy for RVA. I always love coming to these meetings and hearing about these

081amazing scholars who are thriving and having great success at It's a great reminder at what's at stake. RVA is is what's providing those same outcomes for our families and that's why you've heard the outpouring of uh of our community here. Today the mayor reminded us that the school board to is to work with the administration to prioritize RVA and you've already directed them to include RVA in the budget. We urge the board and the administration to work together and for the board to reject any budget that does not include RVA. It's unfortunate that the superintendent's comments in front of city council calling families experiences false helped get us to where we are now. Those comments and other false narratives make board action an imperative. RVA is not a budget issue. RVA is self-funded by its

082enrollment. Budget follows the students. RVA is not funded from federally funded COVID era support. And RVA doesn't even require incremental funding. It can be funded from the planned increases in programs and schools that would have been required to serve the 157 RVA students if it were to close. We also now have plans that can provide a number of options under any budget situation. Alternative options are not adequate. At Virtual Virginia the superintendent has said, and I quote, "It is for very independent students who require little to no support, not your average RVA student." And previously, he had said, "I would strongly advise against continuing with Virtual Virginia." What's changed, and why is that okay for RVA students now? Most families have already been failed by other options, including in-person. My kids, between them, have been

083to three different in-person schools and Virtual Virginia, and they were in crisis. Luckily, my daughter, this week, she passed her last SOL required for graduation. She's a junior. She just received an accommodation from our state delegation about being on the honor roll. And we just made our first college visit uh earlier this weekend as she thinks about her future. Before that, in eighth grade in Dogwood, she had one teacher the entire year and a rotating door of subs, including a janitor who put videos in, uh a teacher who was escorted out by the police for throwing a chair, 30 seconds. >> and someone playing Candy Crush. We also have heard that there's no demand. We've had 200 applications this year, even under the threat of closing, and 750 over the last few. You should feel

084confident in exist in exercising your fiduciary responsibility. This is not micromanaging policy, and this is holding the administration accountable. It is good governance. Nothing about this process has been normal. It's been traumatizing to the community, doesn't serve students, and doesn't make financial sense, and it also opens up RPS to substantial risk. Imagine if a school in your district was set to close in the same manner. Thank you. Good evening. Um I'm Amanda Hugerich with the third district. Thank you for having me. I am writing or I'm here today um, to request the the reinstatement of an ARGS Appomattox Regional Governor's School bus stop at the Holton Hub stop. Uh, we currently have 25 kids who in the Northside area who will be going to Appomattox this fall. Um, this coming fall and there is currently

085no bus stop that's anywhere close. So, we're asking that the school board advocate for um, our students not only to have the parents to be able to um, force the parents to take them four times a day, right? Um, there and back, there and back in the morning and afternoon. Um, but that's also for 25 kids. Um, and that's the minimum. I I haven't been able to engage all of the parents and the family members. Uh, we've got a petition started of getting um, parents to sign um, to fight for this bus stop. Um, one of the issues too is once they get to the bus stops that are currently allocated for Appomattox Regional Governor's School kids, they're sitting three three adults per seat on these buses, which exceeds safety recommendations. Um, so I'm not

086going to belabor the point. I'll send my an email with my letter, but I do uh, urge you all to look at some of these transportation issues that are might be more global, but specifically for the ARGS students who are riding 45 minutes each way. Um, make sure it's safe. Um, and and you know, if there are larger areas, I the East end of Richmond and the Northside really need a bus stop cuz there are a lot of parents in that area who cannot take their kids to and from the bus stop every single day. It really eliminates the ability for many really worthy kids who have excelled in school, um, does not allow them to go to ARGS and I think that's a disservice to so many of these RPS students who deserve to

087go have the opportunity and not be um, prevented from going just because they don't have parents who can the ability to take them to and from a bus stop which we got the whole new hub. We have we've already it serves Franklin, it serves Maggie Walker, it serves all the other schools. Let's bring it back to Bellevue so that the kids in Northside and the East End can go to ARGS and enjoy what ARGS has to offer. Thank you. Thank you. Madam Clerk, how much time do we have left? 3 minutes and 43 seconds. At this time we do have the opportunity if there's someone here who would like to speak for public comment. This is your opportunity to come forward. As long as time allows. Once you sign the clip clipboard first if you

088would please. And when you come up please remember to state your name. Good evening. Good afternoon. I've told y'all my story. My child was bullied. She was picked on. She coming out of school with no jackets on. I marked her diapers. They were soiled. Her service head defend for her. They're moving on. So they won't be able to defend for her. Before she came to RVA she wasn't talking. She couldn't tell you who did what. My daughter absolutely seen a staff snatch my daughter by her arm. And my daughter reacted. They got rid of the staff. They did that to her. My daughter also ran out the bathroom with no pull-up on. All the kids see her. My daughter is developed now. I do not want her in RVA schools. I want her on virtual.

089I also had a friend of mine that reached out to school board police officer and all that about the bullying. A shooting happened. What if one of our kids was getting off of that bus and the police officers was out there and the gun went off? One of these kids could have got shot. But it happened to be a parent. If the police can't protect the kids and see a person out there shooting a gun, how are y'all going to protect them? I'm asking y'all, please, can y'all please fund RVA? Ri- Richmond Virtual Academy. Because my daughter will not be in there. I will have to take that truancy and all that. I will not send her back. She's bigger now. Nobody's going to change I'm still changing her. So I'm asking all of you,

090please, please. Cuz I don't want to be that mother out there defending my child and something happen to me or her. I have seen you on the news a lot of times when something go down in these schools. My daughter is not going to be able to walk fast or move out the way for none of that. What happens when they trample over these kids? 30 seconds. So can y'all please think about it? I don't know if none of y'all have any special needs kids or kids that been bullied or any of that. But if it happened to y'all, I bet y'all be trying to fight for it, too. I'm just asking y'all please think about it. Thank you. Madam Chair, we have 53 seconds. Do you guys want to extend or not? We have

091two people. Ms. Fernandez, now we have three in line. Okay, for the just to the two young ladies who just walked up, please go ahead. Mr. Willis, we're going to What is the consensus? Are we allowing all three speakers to speak or just the two? Sure. Thank you, Madam Chair. Because of the situation that took place in Southside, that's where Mr. Willis has been. So, I would um lean towards all three. I'm glad that he was able to come here and maybe he'll inform us about what took place in Southside, as well. Thank you. No concerns, correct? All right. We're all good to go, Mr. Willis. Good evening. Please state your name. Renaya Kersey. Good evening. I am here today because Richmond Virtual Academy is not just a line but is not just line in

092a budget to me. It is a community and a support system and for many students, it is the reason they are still able to continue education at all. When people hear virtual school, they sometimes assume it is easier or less important than traditional school. But for many students such as I, RVA is the only environment where we can truly succeed. Some students deal with anxiety, bullying, depression, medical challenges, family responsibilities, and personal struggles that make a traditional school setting overwhelming. Others felt invisible in crowded classrooms and began falling behind not because they lack intelligence but because they lack support. RVA gave us students another chance. Cutting RVA from the budget would send a message that students who learn differently do not matter as much. It would take away stability from students who finally found peace

093in their education. Imagine finally finding a school where you feel safe, heard, and capable only for it to be taken away because of budget decision. That is the reality many students are facing right now. RVA does more than educate students academically. It helps students rebuild confidence in themselves. It gives students the ability to wake up every morning believing they can succeed instead of feeling defeated before the day even starts. Some students at RVA were struggling mentally and emotionally before they came here. Some students such as I were failing classes, withdrawing from others, and losing motivations completely. RVA helped us reconnect with their education and with their future. Families rely on RVA, too. My parents have been able to watch me and my brother improve emotionally, academically, and socially because of the flexibility and support RVA

094provides. For some families, RVA created balance during difficult seasons of life. Removing RVA would not only affect students in the classroom, it would affect the entire household trying their best to stay in strong. Education is important to open doors, not close them. A strong school system should recognize that not every student thrives in the same environment. Success should not depend on whether a student fits perfectly into one model of learning. RVA exists because students have different needs, and those needs deserve to be respected, not ignored. When you decide the future of RVA, you are deciding the future of real students with real stories. >> 30 seconds. Students with dreams, students who are trying to every day to overcome obstacles adults may never fully see. Students who simply want the opportunity to learn in place where

095they feel safe and supported. Please do not take that opportunity away. Keep RVA in the budget, protect the families who believe it, and protect the future that are being built there every single day. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Jasmine Jackson Kersey, and that was my daughter who was just up here. I just want to start by saying that I'm extremely proud of the way that she can stand before y'all and advocate for what she is really proud of. Um for months I have been at these meetings fighting for Richmond Virtual Academy. Last night the city council finalized its budget providing a 9.6 million increase to this district. The funding cliff we were warned about finally has a bridge. The question tonight is simple. Will you use that bridge to

096save our school, or will you let it stand empty while you dismantle a successful accredited program? Superintendent Kamras told the city council that the need for a virtual option is a false narrative. As a mother standing here with my children, I find that deeply offensive. Is it a false narrative that my son, who has survived multiple surgeries and health complications, finally has a school where he is safe and healthy. Is it a false narrative that my daughter has become a top-tier student because this environment actually fits her needs? There is nothing false about our reality. By dismissing our needs as a narrative, the administration is dismissing my children's health and their academic success. You are calling our lives a story instead of our priority. We are told this is about numbers, but the math isn't

097mathing. RVA costs roughly $3.2 million. That is only 1/3 of the new funding the city just handed you. You have the teachers, you have the applications, and now you have the money. Closing RVA tonight is no longer a financial necessity. It is a choice. It is a choice to ignore the data, a choice to ignore the surrounding counties who all offer the same resource, and a choice to ignore a mother who is telling you her children cannot simply go back to a system that didn't work for them. Board members, you have the power tonight to change the headline. Don't tell us your hands are tied because the city council has just untied them. We aren't asking for a favor. We are asking for an investment in a school that is already working. Prioritize RVA in

098the final budget. Don't just fund the system, fund the students who need this to survive. Keep RVA open. >> you. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening, Madam Chairman. Superintendent and all the board members, and thank you so much, Madam Chair Burke, for all just speaking to allow me to have this moment. I do want to share with you that although there are many folks that come before you asking for many things, but >> Did you state your name? Yes, it's Charles Willis, executive director of United Communities Against Crime. >> we want the audience to know you. >> Yes, ma'am. I apologize. Executive director of United Communities Against Crime. Um I know there've been many folks come to you today about the budget and asking for many different things, but for those that are in the

099sound of my voice, I want you to understand that there are so many great things that Richmond Public School does also. And I want the board members to know that, on behalf of the Terry family, Zion and Sadie, uh they want to say thank you. They cannot say thank you enough. The first call that they received was from Madam Chair. I want you board members to know. She called and had a conversation and mother explained shared with me that she was very delighted to receive that call as we prepare for the services of the John Marshall um High School graduate as well as the um moving on ceremony for Sadie, which was out of Henderson Middle School. And then from the fact that she had a chance while sitting in the hospital to hear directly

100from the Superintendent of Schools. And through there there was a offer to that really Mr. uh Superintendent, that if you could see the expression on the mother's face when she heard uh the things that she wanted to do and that Richmond Public Schools were very open to allowing those things to happen. And though I know that it's the responsibility of Dr. Bell Green and her staff that those practices of going into our schools and holding services is not what Richmond Public Schools want to display. Education is the key, but then when you have young folks that try all they can, follow all the rules, and do all of those many different things, and then when the mother and families is challenged with such tragic situations, then to have that opportunity to to uh just the

101support, to hear from all of the board members, to hear from uh uh um Madam Haughton that uh oversees uh over B. Shepherd, and from the others that uh assisted, that that is very to see the board members to show up, the school board vice chair and others to show up at the service. So, I'm not here on my behalf, I'm on my here on behalf of the family uh that is very grateful for everything that you all did from the principals from uh please by all means board members if you see Ms. Diggs Stocks please just say you heard that she did a well job. Please if you if I was on the board I'd give her a raise. That lady stayed and stayed and stayed and Mr. Patrick thank you so much because

102people think you all don't show up and show up and you do. And you show up real real. Uh you got a fish fry coming up and I'll be involved with that in the eighth district. And so come on and get over and get some fish. But those are the kind of things that I want the public to know that you all involved with. Now to close out yes we did have a tragedy that happened and yes some of our Richmond Public Schools students today got a chance to see that but I was very delighted that uh you took my call Madam Chair. You know if I call if I smell it I'm going to tell it. It's not about me. It's about our kids. So these young folks witnessed boohooing and crying but because

103of being able to reach out to the necessary folks to provide resources that was very enlightening also. So Richmond Public Schools was on top of it. You all were there. We were able to reach the principal. I talked to Dr. Blunt. I talked to uh others that were in touch. I talked with Ms. Angela Jones. So please thank you so much for the work that you all are doing for the budget toy things that you do to make sure that the departments run because I want you to know that they are working. And thank you Ms. Burke because yes I was rushing. I didn't break any speed limits. But we were able to through Richmond Public Schools helping others we were able to put those kids in a hotel, get them away from the scene

104whilst Richmond Police were able to do what they had to do. So thank you again. Please keep the family in prayer and uh I'll be sending more correspondence as the family allow me to. All right? Thank you so much. God bless you. Thank you. At this time, we will close public information and move into item number five. Budget items 5.01 discuss the fiscal year 2027 budget. Mr. Kamras. Thank you, Madam Chair. First, I just want to say thank everybody who came to speak at public comment and who has come in the past. It is important that we continue to hear from everybody and we do genuinely appreciate all of the feedback. I truly wish that we had the resources to do everything that we want to do and that I think everybody around this dais

105believes we need to do. Unfortunately, the funding is not there. Do you want to remind the public that uh the proposal that the school board approved called for a $12 million increase from the city. And the amount that we ultimately received from the city as an increase was $8 million, which creates a $4 million shortfall. Um even without the Richmond Virtual Academy, we still have an $800,000 shortfall that we need to cut even more to accommodate. I do want to note that every parent, every student, every teacher, every staff member who has come and spoken, I appreciate and take as true the very painful stories that you have shared. And I truly truly am sorry that we are not able given our current financial situation to proceed not only with the Richmond Virtual Academy but

106I do want to remind the public we are also laying off 46 staff members. We are still furloughing staff. We have made many many other cuts as well. We do not have enough money to provide transportation for our elementary after school programs which is going to negatively impact them. There's a long list of reductions that we unfortunately are facing giving our very limited resources. I truly wish we weren't here but we are here. Given that I did want to try to further allay concern for staff members at the Richmond Virtual Academy and provide additional clarity about the steps that we will be taking over the next 2 weeks to ensure that they are all employed. Tomorrow an email will go out from our Chief Talent Officer Ms. Veliz laying out this timeline. The timeline will

107indicate that by Wednesday, May 20th so a week from tomorrow emails will go out with assignments for all staff at RVA with a location and a contract for next year. Staff members will have until the 27th so a week to consider that assignment either accept it or do not accept it. Um and then we will uh take formal action at the June meeting. So, again, I want to rearticulate by Wednesday, May 20th, we will send placement letters for all RBA staff, which will clarify their placements. And then they will have until the 27th to either accept those positions or if they choose not to uh to resign their position. And again, formal action at our June meeting. I also want to say to all of the families, we are committed to finding the very best

108possible placement for your children, whether that is in person and we do serve many young people with very severe physical and uh cognitive needs in our schools. We're happy to discuss those options. And, of course, we continue to have homebound medical instruction, home instruction as well for students whose IEPs require that, and home instruction for students for whom safety is a concern. Those programs will continue and students will be supported. And we would like to be as uh helpful as we possibly can in helping our families make those connections and find the right placements. Uh with that, I'm happy to take any questions and uh thank again the public, everyone who has spoken, and the board for their deliberations over the last several months. Thank you. Thank you. Before we go into questions, I just

109wanted to ask a clarifying question regarding RBA um associates. I know that you said that the date will be the 20th that they will receive assignments. They do still have the opportunity to still um interview for positions and such up until the time closes, correct? Can you clarify that for those who may have that question? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, between now and the 20th, individuals are still, of course, encouraged, in fact, to interview, to reach out to principals about the vacancies that we do have available. All of those are um available on our website. And if you want more specific guidance, please respond to the email that Ms. Veliz will send, and she will ensure that you have one-on-one support. Um we just wanted to make sure that by the 20th uh a

110placement letter was distributed, but until that point, yes, of course, please uh continue to pursue positions that you see fit uh for your um for the environment that you are looking for. Thank you. Ms. Burke, then Mr. Jafari. Thank you, Madam Chair. I have two questions, but right now I just I'm just going to ask one, and then I'll ask to come back second round. Um my concern is regarding the placement of our VA teachers, the virtual um program teachers, and thank you for that email. I received a lot of calls yesterday in terms of persons that had been contacted, but the schools of which they persons were uh told to apply, it did not match the person's certification as she thought. So, I just want to get clar- clarity because there's an opening at

111whatever school, the principal then would decide whether he or she wants that particular teacher to be there. Is that correct? Mr. Chambers. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for the question, uh Mrs. Burke. Um up until the 20th, yes. It is a process of interviewing and then the principal can make the decision of whether to hire or not. As of the 20th, we will issue placements. So, we will say, uh for example, uh teacher A, there's a vacancy in third grade at this particular elementary school. You are certified for that, so we are going to place you into that vacancy. At that point, the principal does not have any say over it. We are going to place you into the vacancy, so you have a position. So, basically, the process really has not changed. It

112just gives the just allows RVA teachers to go through the process, which we normally would do anyway, after the fact. So, if I am certified in K through 12, but all of my experience has been in elementary level, and that's where I'm most comfortable, and I get the interview or whatever with a high school person, but I don't want that. There's there's no no flexibility in in meeting the teachers' needs. They have to go where they've been told if they don't have the opportunity to go to those other schools, correct? So, the process hasn't changed. Mr. Chambers. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh just to clarify, if you've been teaching, for example, elementary at RVA, we would place you into an elementary vacancy. I'll send you an email. Okay. Okay, cuz that's not happening. If I

113may, it it hasn't happened yet. What I'm articulating is we were trying to give individuals an opportunity to interview, but as of the 20th, we are going to start placing people into positions. I'll send you an email. My second ask is the students in RVA. And I heard you state and thank you so much. Um and I am very concerned. I'm very concerned and I understand the finances and I'm not going to give up hope or faith that something has to come through. Because um having served with students and not always have the personnel within your school to be able to take care of those special needs. It it the it rests on the principal or the secretary when a person is absent. So, just something to think about. Something to think about. So, my

114question is for those students that 1 minute. Those students that with with need special needs or not special needs. My question is do they already know where they're going to be placed or what support will be in place for them? For instance, if I live in Churchill, which I do, but no one not a school in Churchill has the um staff there to address my special need. Will I be placed in a school that has one-on-one nurses or small group um care? What's how is that going to be addressed with student placement? Mr. Chambers. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for the question, Mrs. Burke. Yes, for students with uh very unique needs, we would identify a placement at a school that can support those unique needs and um we would do that on a

115one-on-one basis. Thank you. Mr. Jafari. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh Mrs. Burke, thank you for those questions. Very intense. Uh lot of thoughts here. Glad to hear her say that we're going to assure the RBA personnel placements. But I can't help but reflect on and this is just from where I sit and I'm not really going through what they've gone through since January. And and here we said at the last moment and and you know, we're scrambling to make it right. But but how much water just went under the the bridge like that? Um I saw a form that went out May 1st and that was alarming even to me when I saw it. It was a resignation form that that that staff could sign. Uh and I'm real concerned that at the last minute

116we're sending out different kind Not only are we rushing the process, but in their rush to get something done we're making it even worse for the for the uh people that are impacted. Those teachers. And so I I just have a question with regards to uh the email that's going out and then a subsequent email I I suspect but around the 27th which basically closes the process. Are there any unexpected caveats? Is Is there anything Is it just a basic email and they can apply? Can you kind of walk me through that because again uh it's a forecast so to speak. No nobody up here has seen the form. No nobody knows what the content is. And it's always difficult for us to to to climb on board with something that we have not seen.

117We cannot verify to our constituents or teachers or anybody because we haven't seen it. So again, I I I want to make sure that we're taking all steps to not build in caveats which further increase the angst, anxiety, and apprehension of a group of teachers who have been on pins and needles now for what the better part of four or five months. Thanks, Madam Chair. Mr. Chambers, thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for the question, Mr. Jafari. I'm happy to share um a draft of the placement letter that would go out uh on the 20th. In essence, it would say um dear Miss so-and-so, for the 2026-2027 school year, you have been placed as a third-grade teacher at Bellevue Elementary School. Um you uh you know, your contract is for the entire next

118school year as normal, would have all the normal contract language, and you would have until the 27th to either accept the position or to resign from the school system. Mr. Jafari. And just to follow, uh and I think it was said previously, I think Ms. Burke might have alluded to it. And we just make sure on the other side of that that you know, we're we're we're still forcing connections here. If we have to get to that point after the 20th, then we just make sure that we reach out to those principals in those buildings and make sure that they're aware of what's coming down the pike, and make sure that it's a two-way street and everything is going to work out amicably or as amicably as it can. Thanks. Thank you. Ms. Rizzi. Uh

119thank you, Madam Chair. Um you know, I think there is something that didn't necessarily fully get explained in that um um Mr. Chambers, you had requested um a model for scale-back version, um and Dr. Carney-Robinson actually provided that. And then we ended up not having enough money to fund the scale back version. Um, which is disappointing, um, but a reality. Uh, my question is, I know that at the, um, Richmond, I always get it make sure I don't leave anything out, um, the career education and employment academy, um, they definitely do a great job with students who have, um, cognitive, um, you know, differences and physical differences. Um, and then, you know, I know that there is also a program that Amelia Street or similar, I think even, you know, students who are who need

120even more support that does allow them access to occupational therapists and physical therapists who are regularly there. Um, are there slots at those schools that could potentially support the students who, um, really need that kind of support? Good evening, school board members. I I do want to give a little bit of historical context on the Amelia Street piece. So, about 4 years ago, we were under, maybe 5 years ago, we were under a corrective action plan with the Virginia Department of Education. Um, in that plan, Amelia Street was identified as out of compliance simply because we were maintaining a public day school, which means we had schools that had students with who were not being educated with their non-disabled peers. And as a result of that, we had to come up with a plan of

121how we were going to engage those students with their non-disabled peers. And so, we did it in two specific steps. The first thing we did was we rallied around our families who were willing to allow us to provide services under a program we created called the Intensive Support Program. That program was specifically designed for students who are on the lower end of the autism spectrum. Some of our students who have multiple disabilities, students with intellectual disabilities as well. They have a myriad of needs. So, they may have occupational therapy needs, they may have physical therapy needs, um they may have uh significant behavioral support needs. And so, we have our BCBAs, which are board certified behavior analysts, which have a different level of expertise um for students with significant behavioral disabilities. And so, to answer

122your questions um we determined as a division to turn Amelia Street into a school that has primarily students with behavioral difficulties. Um but it was for students with and without disabilities. And then we had a core group of original students assigned to that building whose parents was like, "No way. My children are not going to the program, no matter how well it sounds." And so, as a result of that, we have about three of our original students um in the Amelia program over there. Now, the goal was to let all of our students go into our comprehensive school so they can engage with their non-disabled peers. They also have an opportunity to participate in clubs and organizations and all of those things. Um and to make sure that it is disability awareness for all. So,

123to answer your question, we do have slots in most of our intensive support programs. What you will learn is in looking at the RBA data, we have about six students who truly have some intensive support needs. Um I've worked with Dr. Valley and we looked through each and every one of those IEPs. The services that are existing and things that they may need as they're going to come back into the schools, but it would really require an IEP meeting because those students haven't been in a physical building in 3 years. And so if you talk about a student who needs a gate trainer or train or a changing table, those are things that we have and I won't I don't want to say in stock like we just, you know, have, but we do have

124extra materials and supplies. But for example, if Mrs. Resi enrolled her child into school A and they have those needs, we can pull from our supply, but if not, we're responsible as a division for that child to have access to the educational environment. And I don't like to give a whole lot of acronyms, but FAPE, free and appropriate educate public education is what we're required to do and it's supposed to be at no cost to our families. And so as a result of that, we would be responsible for providing those things. I think the key here is determining whether those students are going to enter back into our schools as soon as possible so that we can meet with each and every one of those families to determine what those needs may be. Mrs. Resi.

125And the employment academy, what we have going on there? RCEA is based on a student's vocational needs. In a dream world, we would want that to be a school that serves our 18- to 22-year-old population so we can focus specifically on jobs that are for them. But we start at the ninth-grade level and they focus on literacy skills. Most of the students there are students with intellectual disabilities, but they're awesome students on the autism spectrum as well. So it is a great option for our ninth-grade students. They have about 40 students over there, give or take, but they do have some students who will be graduating and so really it is about having an IEP meeting discussing what that student's needs are for transition, post-secondary transition, and what their plan is going to be. Um,

126because I just want to remind everybody it is an IEP and so I know we often interchangeably use the word plan, but it is a program written for that individual student. Thank you. Mr. Hixenbaugh. Thank you, Madam Chair. I I imagine it's not uh Ms. Parks, I don't have a a question for you right now. Thank you. Thank you, though. Uh I It's not a It's not a mystery how I feel about RVA and and the fact that I I believe that we should be uh turning over every stone to figure out how we can keep this afloat. I'm uh so I'm I'm I'm most concerned about our efforts in doing so and if we've uh you know, explored all options and I really appreciate Ms. Rizzi uh you know, bringing up some ideas for

127how we can do this. I'm just wondering if if we're we're thinking about this virtual education is again, it's not going away. Um, and if we champion innovation and we uh really want to uh to see uh you know, what what what can come from this. Maybe maybe there's a way that we can merge some of our brick and mortar buildings with our virtual education. I wonder if we've thought about that. Where say I'm a a social studies teacher in ninth grade and I'm teaching two in-person classes right? And the rest of my schedule is teaching virtual classes. Right? So I have students who uh are uh you know, varying needs and I'm we're able to meet those. Where we have staff that are are trained Um and we can meet we can meet the

128kids where where where they are. Um I I I I want I I know looking at the enrollment Um plan or excuse me, the report that we received yesterday that there are shrinking schools. Right? So, there is space for this to happen. Perhaps the entire RVA could be moved into say, you know, one of our schools that is is smaller um that has the space there we have them on the north side of the river particularly. Um or they could be dispersed into elementary level, middle level, high level at places that have room for them. I think that we we we should not be uh seeking to eliminate this. We should be seeking ways to to incorporate this because there are real benefits to it and so can't we be >> 30 seconds. Teachers who

129are certified for in-person learning are also certified for online learning. Um so let's let's try better to to incorporate um this and and not eliminate it, please. Thank you. Ms. Record. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate all my colleagues um statements that have come before me. I would like to echo what Ms. Holton said last night in that I do think it is best as a board for us to signal whether RVA is going to continue or not. I do not believe that funding is going to miraculously appear even from the state, I think. Um we will still have a hole of $4 million. Um and I think it is best for our employees and our families to start making plans and so that our central administration can work with them in earnest now before

130summer happens. And of course, summer is always busy in our schools for planning for next year. It is true that Henrico and Chesterfield have virtual schools. I would like to point out that their populations are more than double ours and that their LCIs are lower and they just have more funding. Henrico is proposing elimination of its K2 due to low enrollment and Chesterfield only provides asynchronous virtual environment for K to 8. 9 to 12 is asynchronous with teacher check-ins. So, it's different for every district. I checked all our other surrounding counties. Nobody can afford a virtual school. It's just the way it is. So, there are two lessons that I am taking from this. The first, and I know I sound like a broken record, but we need to look at our programs that start

131from one-time funding. And if they're starting from one-time funding, I think we really need to make clear to families that that funding may one day go away and so will their their programs. I'm thinking about our 200-day schools as well. Um the second is I do feel like this is an opportunity for collaboration across districts. You know, I've talked about this with some other board members. I know um Mr. Hedgepeth also just gave another idea for a virtual learning. Part of me wonders that I am sure there are other districts that are cash-strapped like ours that might want an opportunity for synchronous virtual learning, but cannot support it on their own, and would it be worth doing a regional school for virtual learning across our districts and share resources. And of course, I know that

132will not happen next year, 30 seconds. >> but I wonder if that would be something that maybe as a board we could start talking with colleagues in other counties to see if there is an appetite for. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Walton. Thank you, Madam Chair. I I I I just wanted to particularly acknowledge and thank the parents who came down and spoke today, and particularly those of you who are supporting children with with very substantial special needs. And one of you said that none of us who haven't dealt with it can really comprehend what you deal with every day, and I just want to acknowledge that and um and thank you for what you do for your children and for all of us by by um by what you do for them. Um it

133it it's um your your um you I I know you don't feel it as a burden, but it's a lot, and we appreci- we appreciate it, and and I hear you. Um I don't have any solutions. I just want to acknowledge um I I I do want to ask uh the the superintendent and his team, while we've been making plans for outreach to the uh staff and faculty, I hope and trust we are making equal plans for affirmative outreach to the families. I mean, it's not just sending them a letter saying your home school your zone school is X. So, I hope hope that especially as we're hearing with these number of students who have um substantial special needs, whether through uh an IEP or otherwise, that I I hope and trust you all have

134a plan and if you want to give a glimpse of it tonight, that'd be great or at the appropriate time let us know what you're doing affirmatively to outreach to these parents to help start thinking about what's the next best option if the what their preferred option is doesn't come through. Thank you. Did you want to speak on that? Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for the question, Mrs. Holton. Yes, we will affirmatively reach out to every RVA family. Understandably, we've been in a bit of a holding pattern. But I think given where we are now yes, we will individually reach out to each family, create opportunities for in essence an individual individual enrollment conversation about what makes the most sense um for a family's child, whether that's in person or some other option either

135within RPS or through another entity. Thank you. Um I want to shift gears for a second and as it relates to the budget, I have a couple clarifying questions and then I'll circle back to RBA. Um I know that we had to make the unfortunate decision as an administration to eliminate the future um uh future centers. Could you share your thoughts around what's next for our students who need the resources to transition into to college and so on and so forth. Can you kind of share where we are with that? Thank you, Madam Chair. We Uh first, let me just say the loss of the Future Centers is a loss. So, there will certainly be uh fewer folks who are available to guide our students. And um I've shared this before, but I do think

136we need to acknowledge that that our cuts do have these consequences. That said, of course, um our counselors, graduation coaches, um and partners that we work with will do their very best to stand in the breach as they always do. As I understand it, the Ed Fund is also exploring uh support for uh if not exactly the Future Center, then something similar to that to help uh supplement what we are able to offer as well. Would that be in fiscal in this next fiscal year or could you share more about that? Um Mr. Cooper. I just think that, you know, our our student representative shared tonight the value of it. And so, I know that there are some students who are waiting in the balance to understand what that looks like because they will need

137those resources. Good evening. Um we are prepared to find a Future Center-like program for the next 3 fiscal years. And the reason why I say like, um the current iteration of the Future Centers, there's one individual in each school. And we think that with some of the schools with larger populations, we probably should have more than one person. And so, will you be tapping into outside resources? How are we pulling from the teams within? Can you share a little bit more about that inspiration? Uh first of all, what do you mean with the teams within? So, um we're eliminating the future centers and those that supported the future centers, the the staff that supported those. Are we going to be using those staff members? Are we going to be outsourcing from nonprofits? Can you help

138you know, explain what the structure will look like? Yes. Um we will have we have an RFP process that we just started. Um and there will be nonprofit organizations and potentially um other partners that will work together uh to apply and then RPS uh staff members will help us vet those partners. Um and then it will be up to that partner those partners to hire whom they think is best fit to to render the service. Great. You have a question about that? Sure, go ahead. Mr. Hester. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh thank you for for bringing this up. My my question is about the um not I I definitely uh empathize with the um the concern of the of the cut of the of the the center. My question is how because we have so

139many other cuts that are occurring, how was the decision made that the the Ed Fund was going to focus on replacing uh this center, which I agree is very important. Um but I I don't recall a conversation about that. So, I just want to know uh how that how that decision was made. Thank Yes. Uh we are constantly pitching opportunities and fortunately this just lined up at the same time. We had a a big opportunity to explore pathways for RPS students and so when we learned that it was proposed that the future centers would be eliminated. This was just some some funding that just was just a I think it was just timing. So we I will say that we is not a day that goes by that I'm not talking to someone about things

140that we can support. This was just one of those things that happened at the same time. Is it related to this? Okay, cuz I was still Mr. Baruch. Thank you Madam Chair. Mr. Cooper. Do you mind explaining how the Ed Fund decides in general to fund things and is is there or has there been any conversation about potentially funding some version of RVA? Whether that's like a regional one or a scaled down one. So I'll answer your first question first. We we have our own strategic plan. And there are certain things that we have prioritized in that strategic plan and the economic mobility of students is is a big part of that. Around RVA that's something I'm happy to explore but there hasn't been an appetite externally to do so yet. From from partners. You

141know, one thing that I will say um I wish we had a large endowment and we had billions of dollars and but we are kind of at the mercy of um different funding opportunities. Ms. Burke. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to talk quickly. I have 29 seconds. All right. First of all, I'm so happy to hear that the Ed Fund is going to pick this up again cuz originally the Future Center was financed by the Ed Fund. And um it was it was very effective. So, thank you for embracing that. My question is I heard you say earlier that the partners would be responsible for hiring. My question is those persons who are currently serving our Future Centers, will they be able to apply as well? Because right now they've they've been downsized. Or

142not downsized, let go. >> Time, Ms. Burke. Thank you. Yes, um so we didn't just fund the Future Centers initially, we actually ran the Future Centers. Um that will not be this next iteration of of of this program. Um but absolutely, they they're definitely welcome to apply and I'm sure that some of the applicants will reach out to current folks to help build their application. And I I encourage them to do so. It's actually in the RFP, which I'm happy to share with you all. Mr. Jafari, do you have any time left? No. Okay. Uh perhaps your partner um Ms. Holton will you can whisper your thoughts to her. She can ask on your behalf. >> I'm sorry. If you could address his questions um that he just sent you, we would really appreciate it.

143That was that was smart. That was that smart and sharp. Um continuing the conversation, thank you so much. Wait, wait, wait. Stay there. Stay there. Um I would like uh very strongly to see if you all would consider also um some type of structuring to support transportation for after-school programs for elementary schools. I believe it's about $200,000. Um please understand when I say this, I'm not asking lightly. It is um essential. We just created baseball program, other things um robotics programs, things that are essential to the well-being and um the growth of our our students. And without transportation, a lot of our students and families will be um automatically not a part of They won't be able to have that as an option. And so, um while I'm not looking for an answer right now,

144I would strongly um ask that you um you all consider that um on the Richmond Ed Fund to see if that is something that we can help to stand in the gap for this up-and-coming fiscal year. Thank you. Thank you. Um Uh the last thing I want to share, I know there's been um a lot of conversation around RBA. I have um also shared, you know, my support as relates to um the RBA program. I see the value that it brings. You know, I I also shared in the beginning that with absence of you know, if we don't have funding, that there is, unfortunately, no way for us to move forward. You know, we still I believe in miracles. I have faith. I'm a believer and so but outside of a miracle or something, you

145know, the state or some or somebody writes a $3.4 million check that we would welcome. It's really hard for us to continue to move forward um as we've already stated, the we were already at a $21 million shortfall. We've eliminated 46 positions, which still keeps me up at night. Um and I think it's an unfair assessment to just say take it back to the board and the superintendent 1 minute. >> out um when we don't hold the purse strings. That comes from the city and the state. And so I think there is a shared responsibility here for all parties involved to hear. We have spoken, the board has spoken, the community has spoken. Unfortunately, the budget that we received came short of what we requested and so it it requires us to make some hard

146decisions. So I I do urge those that are part of RVA to please continue to have um those conversations and administration, please continue to reach out. And my last question is around um the IEPs that Ms. Parks shared. Have we already started those assessments? So no one has spoken directly to the families, but proper pre-planning allows us to be prepared. So as the conversations were taking place and we talked about what are some of the things our students may need, Dr. Volley and I got together, we discussed, "Hey, what are those services that we might be missing that we may not be able to provide? Should we have to reach out to a contractor for certain services? Do we have to order materials and supplies? So, yes, those Thinking of those students and putting them

147first, that has already been thought about. But again, because we were in limbo and we did not know how the board was going to move, now that we know officially that we'll be sunsetting RVA, then we can move forward with contacting families. And we're happy to talk with them about their specific needs and alleviate any concerns that they have. Again, this does not take away um their earlier experiences, but we weren't aware that those things were happening. And so, I do understand their reservation of wanting to send their students back to school, but I also ask that they collaborate with us and give us an opportunity um to be able to serve them. And it may not be in their zone school. We want to put them in a place where there's people who are

148educated in their needs, experienced in their services, and also where they can feel supported from the administrative team and the teacher who they're sending their child to every day. Mr. Kamras. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you uh for your question, Mr. Jafari, uh which was in essence, will the non-teaching staff at RVA be afforded the same opportunities as as the teaching staff? And the answer to that is yes. So, um the administrative staff, uh leadership, uh there's some coaches, uh ICC, and so on, again, have continue to have the opportunity to interview, but if no um no match has been made by the 20th, then we will place them into an available vacancy to the extent that it exists uh that matches their their current job. Um if there is a case where the

149current vacancy does not exist, um then we would uh place them into a position at the next closest role that we have. Thank you. And with that, we will um transition um from the budget discussion and move into board action items. Zero 6.01 receipt for action at start report. Good evening, Ms. Chang. Good evening, Madam Chair, Superintendent Cameras, and members of the board. Uh in addition to the information provided in our report, I wanted to share that as of today, our enrollment is at 96.3%. So, this is a little bit below our last report. Um and this will likely remain the same for throughout the rest of the school year just given where we are in the school year. Um and enrollment of um families is really they're focusing on next school year. Uh and

150another big update I have is around our focus area one report. So, we had that review in March, and I am uh delighted to share that we received an extremely positive report across the four areas. Um we were compliant in all in three of them with an opportunity for improvement in one area that we are working with our regional specialist on addressing. And with that, I'm happy to receive any questions. I just want to acknowledge your effort in um this process. I know it's you've been extremely spread thin um and serving in this capacity. And so, thank you so much for the hard work. It's It's truly um the results uh are showing that we're trending in in the right direction. So, thank you for that. Also, Mr. Percival, thank you for your leadership and

151being on um the liaison on the council. Um that's been uh super effective and and and helpful. And Mr. Hollstedter, who also um shared last night who has championed the enrollment piece to ensure that we keep those numbers up because we so desperately need to. And again, I would be uh remiss if that didn't acknowledge Dr. Wiggins and how she's gotten us to where we are. Um we would not be where we are without you, Dr. Wiggins. And so, we do appreciate all of your support. Madam Chair, if I may also, sorry, I would like to also thank the um Head Start team around the report. They were so wonderful um just making sure that we were able to display all of the amazing work that's happening. And so, also want to extend some gratitude

152to them. Um having a review is extremely uh stressful. And they handled it with grace and I'm very uh grateful for their support as well. Absolutely. And we would be remiss not to um call out um policy council and and all of their um continued diligence in ensuring that um you know, we are focused on the things that are most important to our kiddos. So, thank you. Mr. Percival. Thank you, Madam Chair. If there are no questions, I move to approve the Head Start program reports, minutes, and financial statements as presented by the administration. Second. It's been moved by Mr. Percival and seconded by Ms. Ricard. Madam Clerk. Mr. Percival. Yes. Ms. Ricard. Yes. Mr. Farooq. Yes. Mr. Hedgepeth. Yes. Ms. Rizzi. Ms. Holton. Yes. Ms. Burke. Yes. Mr. Jafari? Yes. Ms. Fernandez? Yes. Motion

153passes. Thank you. Next we have 6.02. Receive for action the recommendation to authorize the superintendent to make budget transfers to balance all accounts for fiscal 2025 to 2026. Good evening, Madam Chair, Superintendent Chambers, board members. This request is being made so that we can pay invoices timely and also um using correct budget codes. This is imperative for tracking and reporting expenditures and also provides a more accurate reflection of spending year over year. Paying bills in May and June is rather chaotic due to the spend down activities for our departments and our schools. We want to ensure invoices that are dated on or before June 30th are posted to the current fiscal year. Invoices not paid in FY26 will be posted to FY27, further burdening our already stressed budget, and waiting until July for budget um

154up for approval of budget amendments, it will be too late for us to process invoices in the current fiscal year. Um I will note that all transfers that we do will come before the board at the next meeting so that you will be fully aware of everything that we've done, but I respectfully request that you approve this request. Thank you. Any questions? Mr. Heshmat. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh Ms. Braga, my question is just about that last statement that you made. I'm I'm confused that you said that the uh all of the transfers will come to our next board meeting for approval. They will come to you as um as a review like you get on a monthly basis anyway for information. So, it will come to you so you will know everything that we've

155done. It's just that we're requesting the anything above the 10,000 you let us go ahead and do now um as opposed to waiting until being approved at the board meeting. Okay, thank you. Ms. Burke. Thank you for your report. I have a question. I'm trying to in my mind phrase it in a diplomatic manner. Um I know at one time when we didn't meet in July, I think that's when this got started sometime ago. Excuse me, we've been doing this for many years, yes. Right. Right. Exactly, that's my question. But now for the last couple of years we've been meeting in July. So, what my question to you is since we're meeting in June, July, and August, we don't get any breaks. But by meeting continuously, there isn't any My reason for asking also is

156because of what's before us financially. We're in a weak position. So, as we make those those ask above that amount, is there any what's what's pressing to the point where as um that has to be decided now? And my reason for asking is this one number I want to know cuz I know this was an old practice. So moving forward, is it really necessary? I know you said that your team is overwhelmed, but we're doing this pretty much all along. We expect more during the summer, but we have less money to spend. So help me to understand. It really has to do more with wanting to pay things timely and paying them now. And for example, if something happened on June 3rd, and we've already had our board meetings for June, I can't wait until

157the July meeting to have a budget transfer approved because now I'm already in July, and that means that invoice that I really need to have posted to fiscal 26. I can't because the books are now closed at June 30. So I need to be able to do those transfers now to make sure I can pay our June our May and June bills now so that we stay current and we're not delinquent. Ms. Burke. So the pending push here is because of being the end of the fiscal year. Yes, ma'am. The end of the year. So really in July and August, everything should be paid. We're in good shape. We're starting out a new budget year. >> So that's that's what my question is. Good. You're helping me to frame this. So if we have to

158pay everything by July, June 30. June 30th, yes. Why is this in place for the whole summer? It's not. The thing that we're requesting is from now until June 30. Okay. This this is specific from and excuse me because I put May 4th cuz I thought we were meeting last week, not this week. So that's that's on me um through June 30. Yeah. Yes. I do have similar questions. Um What is your cut-off time is June 30th, correct? >> Yes. And what is the I'm trying to ask the most diplomatic way as well. Um we have another June meeting. We have a a a meeting June, I believe, 2nd and 3rd. Yes, ma'am. So wouldn't it be more appropriate to revisit this at the June meeting to see if perhaps you you might be all

159caught up by June 2nd or 3rd. I think is perhaps might be presumptuous to say all of what is needed um is may not or may be taken care of. To Ms. Ms. Burke's point, it is a it's a smaller budget and so I just help me understand why we're not discussing this at the June meeting. I'm just trying to get ahead of it a little bit because we do a a lot of spending towards year end. Right now, everyone is looking at what's left in their budgets and they're doing purchase requisitions and they're they're doing spending now. There's a lot There's a whole lot of activity that happens now. There's also a whole lot of activity that happens at the beginning of the school year, but this is probably the second busiest season for

160us and for procurement and for everyone that's trying to process so that folks because folks are spending down their budgets at this point in time. We can If you would If it's more comfortable, we could do this for the month of June and not do it for May. We're just trying to get ahead of it so that we can pay our bills on time. I want to be timely. Um I don't want us to be in arrears. I don't want people reaching out to my superintendent. So that's that's why I've asked for this grace period for the months of May and June. Thank you for that um for your transparency. I would ask the board to consider us revisiting this in the June time frame, but I'm also open to hear your thoughts, questions, and

161feedback. Ms. Rickard. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um the one thing I can say about the benefit of doing May is that you know, principals are working with their teachers right now to spend down those budgets, and a lot of times as a teacher, I was ordering supplies. Carry over, but we have the money now, and so why why waste it? And teachers, of course, leave on May 29th. Um and so, I do feel it allows principals to really work with their staff before they go on summer break. So, that would just be the only point I would bring up. Thank you so much for that, Ms. Rickard. Does this hinder the principals from still working with staff up until May 29th? No, they can still put together their orders, but as things come in, we'd

162like to get them, you know, paid and and and processed, but whatever you're comfortable with, I will I will take. Mr. Percival. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um would it help um alleviate the board's concern if we simply had email notification above a certain threshold? So, if we were to grant this for May and June with uh email notification above I'm open to a number. Whatever. I I would go higher than 10 if I may add um Mr. Cameras. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh unless Ms. Braga objects, just to keep this simple, um if you feel that the team would be able to manage it from June 4th to the 30th I would just say we amend it accordingly so as to not create a whole bunch of paperwork and and emails. But you know this

163much better than anyone else. So, is that sufficient time? It is in most regards. The one thing I'm concerned about at the moment is fuel. That's the one thing I'm concerned about at this exact moment in time. So, might I propose that we we adjust the date um and if anything fuel related comes up, we can reach out about that. So, it would be amended to June or No. I can look at the date. June 4th to So, June 2nd cuz that would be our second meeting in June. Thank you. We're going to need a motion. I'll I'll take a stab at it, Madam Chair. Thank you. So, Madam Chair, I move that the board approve the superintendent to make needed budget transfers to close out the fiscal year from June 2nd through June 30th

164with notification of any fuel similar related expenses. Significant fuel related expenses. Second. It's been moved by Mr. Percival and seconded by Ms. Burke, Madam Clerk. Thank you, Ms. Braga. I'm just writing down this motion. Just give me 1 second. Bless you, Madam Clerk. Moved by Mr. Percival, seconded by Ms. Burke. Okay, Mr. Percival. Yes. Ms. Ricard. Yes. Mr. Farooq. Yes. Mr. Hedgepeth. Yes. Ms. Rizzi. Um abstain. I missed most of the conversation and I generally um you know, know that Ms. Braga asks only for what she needs. Thank you. Ms. Holton. Yes. Ms. Burke. >> Yes. Mr. Jafari. Yes. Ms. Fernandez. >> Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. Next up, we have 6.03 request for authorization for the superintendent to hire school-based staff during the months of June, July, and August. Thank you, Madam Chair. Ms.

165Ellis, go for it. Good evening, Madam Chair, Superintendent Cameras, and members of the board. We are respectfully requesting permission to continue the hiring process through the summer months, given that this is our busiest time of the season trying to get all of our school-based positions uh filled and everybody ready to start for the new school year. Mr. Jafari. Thanks, Madam Chair. Uh I'm to clarify, these are not creating positions. What Can you kind of be specific about the positions that we're talking about? Teacher vacancies and school-based positions. This is not a request to create new positions. Um we we have a very stringent process for that that involves Miss Bragg's department to be able to do that. So, no, this is not to create new positions. Okay. Can I follow up? And uh basically we're

166talking about Is this RBA on one as well? I'm just as a matter of inquiry. Or would that be done by then, you would think? That that would be done by then. Our goal is to um in the memo that I'm going to be sending out tomorrow to everyone and in the subsequent placement letters, we will be stating that all personnel actions related to the RBA assignments will be on personnel actions for review and approval by this board on the June board meeting. And so they have That's This is for anticipated or existing positions. Um it's for both. It is for existing vacancies that we currently have and any anticipated vacancies due to potential licensure issues or resignations that we will be receiving. So, basically just allowing you to adjust. As Yeah, adjust as as

167we get these vacancies between uh in the summer months trying to ramp us up for August and mid-July. Okay, thank you. You're welcome. Good evening. My question is similar to the question that I have for the previous uh item. If And it's similar to what Miss Burke asked um for the last item as well. If the board is meeting from month to month, right? We're we're not taking any time off. Help me understand the need to make this request since we will be meeting and will be able to make whatever necessary votes or insights or what have you and from a governance perspective. Absolutely. So, I think that the reason why this approval is important is because as we are competing with other school districts, not just in Richmond and the surrounding areas, but the

168wide net that we want to try to cast to bring people to our school district, it's going to be important that we can give people a firm and final offer of employment and a subsequent contract. And I think from a hiring perspective and where we are in the labor market for people to have to wait for a board approval of assignment might put us at a competitive disadvantage. And I will also say given that this is my first summer hiring frenzy, um I would also ask Superintendent Cameras to add any additional context since he's been here longer. Mr. Cameras. Thank you, Madam Chair. I think Ms. Lilly has characterized it quite well. Great. And is this consistent? Have we done this from year to year? Okay. Thank you. Thank you. I think so. Do you

169have any other questions? Yep. Ms. Burke. Thank Okay. Do you want to Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. I move that the superintendent is authorized to um hire staff during the months of June, July, August. It's been moved by Ms. Burke and seconded by Ms. Jafari. Madam Clerk. Mr. Percival. Yes. Ms. Ricard. Yes. Mr. Farooq. Yes. Mr. Hedgepeth? Yes. Ms. Rizzi? Yes. Ms. Holton? Yes. Ms. Burke? Yes. Mr. Jafari? Yes. Ms. Fernandez? Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. And now we have 6.04 receipt for action personal actions. Ms. Chang or whoever is coming forward. Hello again. Um I present the personnel actions uh for the month of May. We are presenting a nomination of 15 team members, change of contract of 18 team members, reappointment of eight team members, resignation of 34 team members, retirement of

170seven team members, furlough of 16 team members, change of name of two team members. Okay. Thank you. Do we have a motion? Mr. Percival? Uh Madam Chair, I move to accept the personnel actions as presented. Second. It's been moved by Mr. Percival and seconded by Ms. Ricard. Madam Clerk? Mr. Percival? Yes. Ms. Ricard? Yes. Mr. Farooq? Yes. Mr. Hedgepeth? Yes. Ms. Rizzi? Yes. Ms. Holton? Yes. Ms. Burke? Yes. Mr. Jafari? Yes. Ms. Fernandez? Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. And now we do have our consent agenda. Um before we do the motion, I believe there were some additional questions about 7.05 receive for action contracts over 100,000 particularly Scoot. And so Madam Chair. Yes. Motion to pull out from the block in agenda uh item 7.05 the contracts for Scoot Education and University Instructors. Second. It's

171been I don't think we need to do a motion. I think it was just Yeah, but I appreciate you all being prepared to do so. It is now open for discussion. Mr. Farooq. Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. We had a robust discussion about this at a previous board meeting and at last night's meeting and uh while I really respect and appreciate all the hard work of our talented staff for me these contracts I can't support them for a couple reasons. One, I just in my personal experience have not seen it go well when governments contract out core functions. Two, uh I just believe that recruiting and retaining staff is like a core part of what we need to be doing and I didn't I was not convinced from the evidence I was presented that this

172just would be a good use of our time or money. So, for those reasons I'll be voting against it. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Ms. Rizzi. Uh thank you, Madam Chair. So, I'm a bit confused. Are we um deferring this? Are we removing it from the consent agenda? What are we doing? We're removing it from the consent agenda to have further discussion as there were some unanswered questions and folks that had some concerns and so we wanted to flesh that out before Yes. Thank you. Mr. Jafari. So to be clear, uh we pulling it out for the purpose of deciding whether we're going to proceed with it? We will be voting for it tonight. >> Either up or down. Unless there is a request to defer it at a later date. Okay, thank you.

173Yes. Ms. Ricard. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um Ms. Felice, I was wondering if you could just explain one more time how Scoot and university instructors lead to a budget savings for us. Um and then a follow-up question I had was just in general how many long-term sub positions typically just go unfilled because we cannot source them and then therefore we're doing daily subs for students. Thank you. So the how we arrived at a budget savings or budget neutral number is we used the current cost of our existing vacancies to conduct a cost benefit analysis. So the the money of our vacancies is what covers the cost of these programs. So that was the first one. The second one, I don't have the answer to that. I would have to look into that for you and

174get you how many long-term sub positions go unfilled and and to get you day-to-day. Did I Yes, Ms. Ricard. Right. And just one more follow-up question. Let's say we just don't have as many long-term sub positions cuz we are able to hire fully qualified teachers. Do these contracts hold us to still providing 15 for them providing 15 and 15? So, once we enter into a contract with them, it is a legally binding contract. And unless there is a breach of contract on the sides of either party, we are bound. And I just want to remind everyone that um given the national shortage of qualified teachers in our country, it is I I would hope that we have less than 30 long-term sub positions available. Knock on something. Um but given where we are in the

175labor market, that's that's going to be challenging. Just being transparent. Mr. Hedgepeth. Ms. Holton. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Ms. Felice. Just to follow up on Mr. Card's question, which was one of mine as well. Thank you for that. Um what happens if either partner isn't able to recruit the 15? Well, they would be in breach of contract. Because the commitment is that they have to get us 15. And they have to get us 15 by the start of the new school year. And if they don't, that's that's breach of the terms of the contract. Um but to my knowledge and based on the information that they've shared with me and the references that they've provided, they've never not been able to fulfill. I mean, originally they wanted uh cohorts of 30, 40, and

17650. And because I again, they have to show me that they can do this. I said we are willing to entertain a pilot of 15 a piece. And then thank you. And what happens if there is a breach of contract Then we have the legal right to exit the contract. Is there do we have a do we get a refund when there's the breach of contract or like what happens? Here we go. So I am not an attorney, okay? But here's what I have done in the past. In the past when I have had a deadline, a call center contract that I had where I needed 150 call center reps to be hired and start by September 8th. The vendor partners that could not guarantee me that and a week before the start date did

177not have everybody signed, sealed and delivered, we exited and there were no costs to us because people had not physically started. So that would be my approach. We are we are asking for review and approval of this partnership now to give them two and a half three months to find us people that would start in the beginning of August and go to new teacher orientation with our team members and so on and so forth. Yeah. So if they don't if they don't do it, we don't we don't pay until people are physically with us. Yeah. Thank you. Good question. Thank you, Ms. Holton. Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you, Ms. Best. I'm hearing that this is essentially a pilot. I think is the word you used, an experiment to help address our persistent challenges

178in filling teacher positions and including long-term sub positions. And as such, I'm I'm inclined to uh vote in favor of allowing the experiment. Um um especially as I correct understand correctly that it's cost neutral. My one question would be if there is some reluctance uh to go that route, would the administration have a preference for one or the other of you know, if we wanted to do one pilot but not two? I hate to make you choose between your your your possibilities, but do you have a preference that you would like to share with us if uh our colleagues were so inclined? Okay. Oh, wow, you all ask tough questions. Um Here's Here's what I would advise us to do. If I am asked to do one or the other, I would lean into the

179organization that we already have a business relationship with. Because the feedback that I've gotten from my colleagues in academics is that University Instructors does a phenomenal job on the tutoring side. You You know what I mean? So, I I would I would personally if if you all said to me, "Evie, you can have one." I would say, "Then let's go with University Instructors because we've already got a relationship with them." Ms. Holton. Thank you, Madam Chair. Just to be clear, I'm prepared to vote for both if that's the will of the board, but just laying out thinking aloud here. Thank you, Ms. Holton. Thank you, Ms. Rizzi. Ms. Burke. Uh Ms. Felice, will you remind me if um how long do we have? Um this this how long does this contract last? One year. And

180if it doesn't work out, we can cancel the first year. Yes, ma'am. >> After the first Yes, ma'am. I I made it very clear to both vendors that they had to prove themselves to us and that I would not be willing to sign anything longer than one year. So they will have one year to get us their cohort, get them in place, and get them to provisional license by the next school year. If not, thank you. Nice knowing you. We're done. Hope Yes. Yes, ma'am. Mr. Ms. Burke and then um Mr. Jafari. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for explaining that tonight um because yesterday I left not in favor of either. I have experience with um university instructors. And um thank you for sharing what you shared because they do have a phenomenal choice

181of tutors over the years and also a great support system. I'm just surprised if they went into this business, but I'm glad that they did. I didn't hear you say last night if you did, forgive me, that it would only be for 15 positions. But if we do both, it would be 15 per. So why is it that we why can't just one do 30 or whatever? What why is it split? What does one offer that the other one does not offer? So that's that's a great question. When I joined the organization, these conversations were already in flight. So I it got transitioned to me as your new chief talent officer and I went with both of them. And I've always felt that if we've got two organizations and they both offer a little bit

182of a different flavor, right? Uh Teach Start is great for candidates that need health insurance but can pay for their tuition out of their own pocket. University Instructors is great for people who don't need health insurance. For example, military spouses. Right? A great a great group of people that we could try to recruit into these programs that they could try to recruit. They don't necessarily need health benefits. But and and they could pay for um their tuition out of pocket. So, each each um uh vendor has different things that they can offer. Uh their model is very similar, though. What they do. They will get us folks, they will train them, they will coach them themselves, they will help them get to provisional license, and then we take them on as W-2 eligible employees. Thank

183you. You're welcome. Thank you, Mr. Safari. Okay, so we're talking about two different entities, correct? Yes, sir. 15 each. Yes, sir. Do they operate from the same geographical location? Where they located? Well, um I don't remember where their headquarters are, but they are both national organizations. Okay. Yes. Would they be competing for the same talent pool? We all would be. Yes. Okay. Yeah. But they'd basically be opposing one another. They'd be in competition with one another. Mhm. Okay. Uh other question. Is this like a pilot It says like a pilot or an experiment or something? I uh >> I think I heard that. Yes, I this is a pilot program, which is why I did not agree to larger cohorts or a lengthier term of a contract. They get 1 year to prove themselves to

184Richmond Public Schools. Thank you. And and and the points are taken on what a Denver, Colorado model? Did I hear that as well? It's not It's not urban. It's not Um so TeachStart and university instructors both have experience with urban school districts. They they've given us I I don't I didn't bring my my paperwork up with me, but they do have experience in urban school districts. Okay, and so did I also hear that they've only been around 4 years? How did that work? TeachStart uh Scoot ha- has been around for 4 years and they have I mean they've they've shared some case studies with us of some successes, a lot of successes that they've had in San Francisco and Denver and other areas of the country. So they've grown really well in the last 4

185years and that's through their success and they've retained over 90% of the contract that they've originally started and that's a that's a very high retention rate for what in effect is a uh outsourcing firm for this type of work. Okay. Last question. So between the two we're talking about 4 years of combined experience. Oh, no. University Instructors has been in business for decades. Doing this particular line of work? This particular line of work they are more recent entrants into the business. Um I don't remember exactly how long ago they jumped into this line of work, but they've been looking for um people to do tutoring. So they've been in this recruiting type of space for decades. They've just been recruiting for tutors and not teach not people who want to be educators. Which is kind

186of kind of the same if you think about it cuz tutors are educators. Yeah. Thank you. You're welcome. Mr. Farooq and then Ms. Burke. Ms. Burke and then Mr. Farooq. Just thinking regarding university instructors, a lot of them are retired teachers as well as college students cuz it's a part-time position. But if you're a college a retired teacher, you already have your benefits in place. So, that's the that's the plus. That's awesome. So, yeah. This been around for about 20 something odd years? Maybe 25? >> Yeah. I heard our relationship with them is 30 years old. That's about right. Long story there, which is great. Thank you. Mr. Farooq. Thank you, Madam Chair. First, I want to say that in the past I have voted in favor of the university instructor contracts, which helps us

187get tutors because hiring tutors and training tutors is not a core part of our business. So, I was fine with that. In every single instance where I have seen government contract out core parts of their work, it has gone badly. Because one, you lose your full democratic control over that process. Two, holding them accountable is harder. Contract management is a more blunt instrument than if you directly controlled all the staff and all the policies involved. And three, you actually lose expertise because someone else is doing that work. I believe deeply that recruiting training full-time teachers people who will be in the classroom every day with our kids is a core part of our work and I oppose contracting it out. That's one. Two, I really do believe that they will be cannibalizing our own work.

188We should be growing and improving our own ability to recruit long-term subs and helping grow our staff into the professionals they want to be. And so what I don't want to see is these corporations, by the way university structures, even though we've had in a relationship with them for many years, this is a new line of business for them. And honestly, this is our business. And I don't even like to use the term business cuz it's not a profit-driven venture, it's a person-centered venture. And I think in order to retain as much control over it as possible to ensure the kind of quality we want I think from a governance and policy perspective, we should focus on improving our own ability to recruit and retain and train that staff. That's why I'm voting against it

189and I hope my colleagues will join me. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Well, I do see the value of what you're sharing with the program. I do have um similar concerns to Mr. Farooq. Um I think empowering and and providing professional development to our own recruiting staff is more essential than uh outsourcing um candidates who were quite frankly will be will be competing against anyway. Um I am concerned about um them only being 4 years old as was shared uh last night. It doesn't really give strength to a level of um tenure and um the ability to really champion the specific needs of RPS when they haven't really developed their own. I mean, 4 years old, you're still ironing out the kinks, so to speak. Um and, you know, even in, you know, trying

190to reach out to them to get some confirmation about questions that we have from yesterday evening, there was a challenge in a level of response that they haven't been able to give. And I understand it's a short turnaround time, but I'm just wondering in a real-life situation, we have questions, concerns, we would want them to be able to be available, at the ready to address whatever is needed. Um and then I'm those are kind of my concerns. The demographics, some of it, you know, we talked about Denver, we're in Richmond. Um so, I I do have some hesitations. I'm not prepared to vote yes tonight. I'm going to be honest. I think we need more time. We have so many questions, and I just think we need more time to to flesh it out. That's

191That's where I stand at the current time. Ms. Rizzi. Uh thank you, Madam Chair. And and Madam Chair raises what I think um the base of this issue is, right? Is that there are some perhaps missteps with process here. If we had received information, if maybe a presentation had been made prior to these contracts showing up for a vote, um maybe the potential for getting more buy-in would be there. But to have them show up um on a day that we were expected to not only vote, but suspend the second read, which is what we were asked to do, um, seems rushed and it seems to um take us for granted in some ways that I'm a little uncomfortable with. And so, I think for me the process is more of the concern than anything

192else. Thank you, ma'am. I have received the feedback. Mr. Percival. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um as a government contractor in my day job, I take no offense from my colleagues comments whatsoever. Um but that experience does bring to light that often times uh contractor can bring in a smaller team with expertise in a particular area and accomplish a task uh more quickly, more efficiently. Uh I believe Ms. Beliles pointed out last night that in order to hire full-time staff to accomplish the same things would mean taking away the funding for staff in schools. This is all one big beautiful budget and we would have to move things around. Keep your composure. So, um I I I look at this as a cost-neutral way to get contracting firms to compete for our business uh given the

193landscape of budgets and public schools and everything we're facing, especially this coming up. A- as as much as we need to get over this, I think we should probably get over this and start looking at these options because we are going to have to look at cost-neutral options moving forward in budgets and this is probably a very good example of doing that. So, I am prepared to vote in favor of both of these options this evening. Thank you, Mr. Percival. Ms. Ricard and then Ms. Mr. Heshbach and then we're going to have to come to some type of decision. Thank you. Um I appreciate all my colleagues comments. I think there's been a lot of wisdom said at this table. I do think as we continue to see teacher shortages and long-term subs in our

194building, we do need to think creatively about how we're nurturing our next group of teachers, and that is going to require some creative thinking. Um you know, these are seed program that we run only has so many spots. We can't afford more. And so these are two options that allow us to hopefully end with provisional teachers. And a provisional teacher is way better than a long-term sub. Um so I, you know, I like I said, I definitely respect my colleagues' opinions, but I do think there is a teacher shortage. We need to look at creative ways to continue to home grow, but also how are we just making sure that every classroom has a provisional teacher who is moving towards a lice- fully licensed teacher for all our kids. Thank you, Mr. Hedgepeth. Thank you,

195Madam Chair. Um I'll second what Ms. Rickard said, that you know, there's a lot of wisdom here, and I'm very torn about this. Uh but it but the teaching profession is in peril. Um 100%. Um and so uh there isn't just we can't limit the pathways to teaching. Um and I'm I'm a bit comforted by this the fact that this is a small pilot, that it's a limited scope in in time. Um and that I I again, I I think I'll be prepared to vote for both of them, because I think again, this is providing us more chances to find more qualified people that again, want to be with our our students and they want to become teachers and it's one of the most uh admirable professions in the world. And so uh I I

196I think that again, while there is some reservation, I think that it's it's it is a more positive than it than not. So, I'll I'm going to support both of them. Thank you. Thank you. And I agree with everything that everyone has shared in terms of us needing to look outside the box. That's not really my concern here. I think it what you've shared is admirable. I I appreciate the fact that you've thought outside the box. But as um my colleague Ms. Rizzey has shared, it is the process. We hadn't really had time to discuss our due diligence, do our own homework, >> connect with partners and divisions, all the things that we really would typically do when we have the option to discuss this in a more broader and a long-term span. And so

197I I I I don't feel comfortable with with rushing the the governance process. So, with that, I think we should just um move forward if unless there's other thoughts or Ms. Burke. Thank you, Ms. Thank you, Madam Chair. I don't want to prolong the the process, but I'd like to share something I've been thinking about. Last night, I was totally against this, period. Number one, because I believe that we have the expertise within our system to move forward on this. However, I also heard you state that we have 34 resignations. All right. I don't know how many are for teachers. Then I stopped and I had to think. When I went to Chimborazo Elementary School, second lowest performing school in the state of Virginia, we were denied the opportunity, but we fought for it to

198get a partnership with Yale University. Gerald Burke didn't turn it around. Together in partnership with Yale University, the school the Comer program, we were able to get a grant. We were denied at first. How can you deny a school the second lowest in the state? Another story. But that helped us to change the culture because we didn't They came in, they trained the parents, the students, the faculty, and the staff. So, I'm I'm willing to take a risk. I'm willing to take the risk. I'm not I got to take a risk because otherwise we keep coming back to this table. People are looking for teachers. We can talk talk talk talk talk, but at the end of the day are we losing out on behalf of our students? As a parent and as a representative

199of the seventh district, seventh district and south side are two of the hardest school areas to hire certified teachers. In my almost 20 years of Sheff Movement, I never had a full certified staff, faculty and staff, but I had the best teachers ever because of the commitment and what Yale University did for us through the Comer program. I will always remember you get to people with collaboration, consensus, and no fault. So, at the end of the day, 15 versus 115, I'm going to vote in favor of it. Thank you. Unless you show me something different. All right, with that, Mr. Percival. Uh Madam Chair, I am moved that the board adopts all of the requests for contracts over $100,000. Second. I'm It's It's been moved by Mr. Percival and seconded by Ms. Burke. Madam Clerk.

200Mr. Percival. Yes. Ms. Rickard. Yes. Mr. Farooq. No. Mr. Hedgepeth. Yes. Mr. Rizzi. No. Ms. Holton. Yes. Ms. Burke. Yes. Mr. Jafari. No. Ms. Fernandez. No. Motion passes 5 to 4. Thank you. And now for our consent agenda, um absent 7.05. Mr. Perc- Ms. Rickard. Madam Chair, I move that we adopt the consent agenda 7.01, 7.02, 7.03, 7.04, and 7.06. Second. It's been moved by Ms. Rickard and seconded by Mr. Farooq. Before we I'm sorry, but Mr. Hedgepeth. I was looking right at I mean looking at your name. I'm sorry. Before we go to a vote, I just have one point of I have a question for um 7.03, the Commerce Road Commerce Road project. I just want to make sure that there were no changes since the last iteration of what was communicated in

201our previous presentation before we go for a vote. Good evening. Thank you, Madam Chair. No, there have been no changes. The resolution that we put forward was reviewed by the Facilities and Vacant Properties Committee and is the same as what you saw last month. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Madam Clerk. Mr. Percival. Yes. Ms. Ricard. Yes. Mr. Farooq. Yes. Mr. Hedgepeth. Yes. Ms. Rizzi. Yes. Ms. Holton. Yes. Ms. Burke. Yes. Mr. Jafari. Yes. Ms. Fernandez. Yes. Motion passes. Thank you. If is amenable to you all, colleagues, for the sake of time, we do have a robust um closed session ahead of us. If we could email new business to um to Mr. Percival so that we can move forward to closed session. Mr. Farooq. Madam Chair, I move that the School Board of the City of

202Richmond convene in a closed session one, to discuss and consider the assignment, appointment, and performance of administrative personnel and to consult with legal counsel regarding the same issues as authorized by Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711A1 and A8 and two to discuss and consider the performance and possible discipline of classified employees and to consult with legal counseling legal counsel regarding the same issues as authorized by Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711A1 and A8. It's been moved by Mr. Farooq and seconded by Ms. Burke. Madam Clerk. I'm sorry. Miss Move by Mr. Farooq I'm sorry before we move forward. Uh it appears that there's some items missing from closed session. Had we used a contractor on the board to make the motion? You just cannot. So, but let me ask a technical question because we we did make the motion.

203So, do we have to vote that down cuz a motion is technically already out there? Yeah. Okay, so we can amend the motion. Okay. >> Madam Chair, I amend my earlier motion to go into closed session by adding to consult with legal counsel regarding issues related to FOIA and personnel matters as authorized by code section 2.2-3711 A8. To discuss and consider assignment and appointment of instructional and support personnel and to consult with legal counsel regarding the same issues as authorized by Virginia code section 2.2-3711 A1 and A8. And finally to discuss one or more collective bargaining agreements involving the expenditure of public funds where discussion in an open session would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the public body and to consult with legal counsel regarding the same issues as authorized by

204code section 2.2-3711 A29 and A8. Second. The amended motion um has been called by Mr. Farooq and seconded by um Ms. Burke. Madam Clerk. Mr. Percival. Yes. Ms. Ricard. Yes. Mr. Farooq. >> Yes. Mr. Hedgpath. Yes. Ms. Rizzi. Yes. Ms. Holton. Yes. Ms. Burke. Yes. Mr. Jafari. Yes. Ms. Fernandez. Yes. Motion passes. We are now in closed. Please, colleagues, if we can move to the back expeditiously.