The Richmond School Board voted to establish a community advisory board for the construction of a new George Wythe High School in South Side.

The board voted 5-0 at its meeting Monday night to approve a motion by School Board member Stephanie M. Rizzi, 5th District, to establish the advisory board to review and provide input for the design of a new school building. Located at 4314 Crutchfield St. in Ms. Rizzi’s district, George Wythe High School opened in September 1960.

The board will consist of four staff members from the high school, two students and two community members who will be chosen by the School Board once applications are created and people respond.

“I want to ensure that there is community engagement,” Ms. Rizzi said.

Board members Shonda Harris-Muhammed, 6th District; Cheryl L. Burke, 7th District; Dawn C. Page, 8th District; and Nicole Jones, 9th District, abstained from voting.

Since the School Board’s April 12 resolution to take over respon- sibility for new school construction from the city, there have been heated debates, a news conference and a public demonstration about the action because it has the potential to delay the project.

The city administration has pulled back distribution of its request for proposals, or RFPs, for design and construction of a new Wythe High School.

Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras, who was opposed to Richmond Public Schools taking over the construction, said while his administration is following the will of the School Board, he doesn’t know when the new school will be built.

“It will not be in the fall of 2024” as the city had planned, Mr. Kamras said. “It will be later. The (Richmond Public Schools) administration has to write the RFP from scratch, per the direction of the School Board. The process will be a little longer as we ramp up and develop the needed expertise.”

His optimistic completion projection: 2027.

In complying with the School Board’s resolution, Mr. Kamras’ administration has drafted job descriptions for three new positions needed to handle school construction—director of school construction, construction project manager and construction procurement manager. Once the position descriptions are finalized, Richmond Public Schools will forward them to the Virginia Department of Education for approval. The state also has recommended additional project positions to oversee construction, finance and site coordinators.

“We will need to make some budget changes to make this happen,” Mr. Kamras told the Free Press.

He also confirmed that several more positions will need to be created and filled. “I will forward a proposal to the board shortly,” he said.

George Wythe school replacement plans were expected to be discussed at the quarterly Education Compact meeting Wednesday night between RPS and city officials.