Richmonders have railed in recent years against the deplorable conditions in the city’s aged and decrepit school buildings where city public school students are expected to learn despite conditions that hinder education rather than foster it.

After railing, Richmonders rallied and supported the 2018 meals tax hike and other concerted efforts promoted by Richmond Public Schools and City Hall to spur the effort to replace the worst of the old buildings.

When schools reopen this fall for in-person learning after an 18-month hiatus because of COVID-19, we will be happy to see students enter three new buildings that have been completed since the shutdown began in March 2020.

Still, understandably, the pressure is on to continue the progress replacing worn out, outdated structures. George Wythe High School in South Side was part of the 2018 school replacement plan as city voters and taxpayers were promised. But money ran short of projections to replace four school buildings and RPS ended up with only three new schools – River City Middle School and Cardinal and Henry L. Marsh III elementary schools.

Now the renewed focus on replacing George Wythe has become a senseless power struggle of sorts between the city administration and the Richmond School Board over who will be in charge of new construction.

We urge city and schools officials to hit pause, step back and evaluate the bigger picture. With nearly $150 million in taxpayer money already appropriated and at stake for this project, we need to ask the right questions before anyone throws out a request for proposals or bids on the project.

The central question is this: What do we need in a new George Wythe building that will help our students meet the demands of the future?

School Board member Jonathan M. Young astutely wants the School Board, the RPS administration, city officials and other stakeholders to envision what’s needed before shovels hit the dirt.

Several important factors need to be considered, including Richmond’s current and projected school-age population; current and future academic and technology needs of students; the need for vocational education to be provided onsite rather than at a center elsewhere; and community needs, such as a school-based community library, day care and after-school space and programming.

We believe a short pause is reasonable to get this project right.

When George Wythe High School opened nearly 61 years ago in September 1960, it was the first city high school in South Side since 1910. At the time, it opened to 1,400 excited students in grades 8 through 12, but it had no air conditioning or facilities for the disabled.

While we can’t plan a building to meet every future contingency, we must do our utmost to plan a learning and growing environment that will meet the academic and other needs of our students and the community in the coming years.

Given Richmond’s history, it may be another 61 years before any major modifications can be made to a new George Wythe High School we build today. Let’s work to get it right now — for the benefit of our students.