Richmond Public Schools will be closed Monday, Jan. 27, because a large number of teachers will be attending the Virginia Education Association’s “Fund Our Future” rally at the State Capitol advocating for more state funding for public schools.

“It appears that nearly 700 (about a third) of our teachers will be taking personal leave to participate in the VEA rally,” Superintendent Jason Kamras stated in communication to RPS parents, families and the media on Sunday announcing the closure.

He said the school system would be unable to secure enough substitute teachers to fill in for the absent teachers, which would put an added burden on non-participating teachers who would face “unreasonable class sizes that would make meaningful instruction nearly impossible and potentially create significant safety concerns.”

The decision was made after Mr. Kamras conferred with the School Board.

In his statement, Mr. Kamras apologized for the late notice and “the unexpected childcare burden” it may place on working families.

He said because some families also depend on school meals for their children, the RPS nutrition team will prepare “to-go bags” for students to take home on Friday, Jan. 24.

Henrico County Public Schools already had designated Jan. 27 as a student and staff clerical day off when it adopted its 2019-20 school calendar last year.