Richmond Public Schools is not going to shut down during the international bike races that will engulf much of the city next month.

Assistant Superintendent Tommy Kranz told the School Board on Monday night that he is anticipating “business as usual” during the upcoming 2015 UCI Road World Championships, scheduled to run from Saturday, Sept. 19, through Sunday, Sept. 27.

He said RPS has no plans to close any schools because of the races.

“We’re matching (bus) routes to (bike race) routes so as not to disrupt” our students, he said.

Mr. Kranz also said GPS systems have been installed on RPS buses to help them more effectively navigate their routes.

At its final regular meeting before school begins Tuesday, Sept. 8, the School Board also got an assessment from Superintendent Dana T. Bedden on the mostly modest gains on the spring 2015 state Standards of Learning tests.

“We’re headed in the right direction,” Dr. Bedden said, repeating the points he made in a statement to the Free Press after last week’s announcement about pass rates

on the tests administered to students from 3rd grade through high school.

“We have work to do in writing,” he said of the district’s 8 percentage point decline in pass rates for writing, from 56 percent in 2014 to 48 percent in 2015.

“We did a heavy push on reading (SOL pass rates up by 6 percentage points from 2014) and math (pass rates up by 7 per- centage points). Now, we’ve got to raise the total package,” he said.

He did not mention that the cumulative pass rates for the core subjects of reading, writing, math and science remained well below state standards for accreditation. History was the only subject in which pass rates, 72 percent, met minimum state standards.

Also at the meeting, Dr. William Royal was introduced as John Marshall High School’s principal. The 25-year educa- tion veteran succeeds Beverly Britt, who recently retired.

Dr. Royal brings a diverse background to his new post. He most recently was principal at Yvonne B. Miller High School in Powhatan, which serves youngsters in juvenile correctional facilities.

He also has taught at academic institu- tions in England, Austria and the United Arab Emirates and held administrative

positions in Virginia and Tennessee.

In other action at the meeting, the School Board approved a plan to boost non-English speakers’ access to RPS services so par- ent and guardians of students who do not speak or read English can better understand

notices and verbal communications.

The plan is the third and final part of a voluntary agreement RPS entered with the U.S. Department of Education follow- ing the case of a non-English speaking mother who could not comprehend what was being said to her children during a

disciplinary hearing.

Her son was expelled, and paperwork

explaining the action was sent home to his family in English. Under federal law, RPS was required to provide interpretative services at the disciplinary hearing and written materials in the mother’s native language.

The board also approved a 1.5 percent pay increase for substitute teachers.

In addition, the board voted to lease 10 classrooms, a gym and a kitchen area at the Belt Boulevard campus of St. Paul’s Baptist Church to accommodate more than 100 pre-kindergarten students. The space will provide needed room for a growing population of children on South Side. The cost to RPS: $2,500 a month.