Richmond School Board members unanimously updated their rulebook on meeting durations, limiting the time members can spend speaking on issues during Monday evening’s meeting.

School Board meetings are disreputably known to extend into the evenings, with some public meetings averaging more than three and a half hours. Richmond Public Schools administration pointed out that the long meetings are not only ineffective practices but also unfair to the public and staff members, who are present throughout the meetings.

“I think it’s also extremely important that we stand with what’s at stake if we rush through items,” said Chair Shavonda Fernandez, 9th District. “I think it’ll be amazing and a great experience for not just us, but for the administration who stays all day and all night.”

The new protocol will limit each board member to three minutes to discuss issues per agenda, a five-minute limit for administration presentations and reserve last-minute agenda changes for emergencies. To increase meeting efficiency, board members will now be able to submit all questions in advance for the RPS administration to address. Meetings also will be divided into work sessions on the first Monday of each month and a regular meeting on the following day.

The only exception to this time-limit protocol is discussing Dreams4RPS, RPS’s long-term strategic plan. Superintendent Jason Kamras also presented the finalized strategic plan during the meeting.

“It’s really going to be about continuing to remain focused, disciplined on the things that we said we’re going to do, and continuing to find the resources to invest to make sure that we’re able to do,” Kamras said.

While the school division has reported significant gains over the past few months, some School Board members expressed concern that the recent implementation of the Virginia Department of Education’s new accountability system — known as the Student Support and Performance Framework — may impact RPS’ long-term strategies with schools’ accreditation status due to the framework not being fully defined.

“There are pieces in [the Student Support and Performance Framework] that I appreciate, but I’m concerned about the accountability system being implemented at a time where there’s no framework for the new standards that have been pushed out,” said Shonda Harris-Muhammed, 6th District.

RPS currently has 24 accredited schools but with the new accountability system, the school division would have nine “On track” and five “Distinguished” schools. The administration is aiming for 34 schools to be “On Track” or “Distinguished” by 2030.

Since August, the new accountability reform has been a contentious debate among education advocates. The Student Support and Performance Framework categorizes K-12 schools across the commonwealth based on performance as “Distinguished,” “On track,” “Off Track” and “Needs Intensive Support.” While the new framework has received federal approval from the U.S. Department of Education, the Virginia Education Association deemed it as, “a misleading and rushed system.”

Board Member Cheryl Burke, 7th District, said the board needs to continue advocating for their teachers, who are placing these standards on students.

“The teachers are learning the curriculum and that’s hard,” she said. “I’m all in favor of taking a step and advocating on behalf of our teachers and our children.”

Budget process begins

Also as the meeting, the school board began its fiscal year 2026 budget process.  

Superintendent Jason Kamras presented the outlook for the budget process, which will span six months, with the adoption anticipated to be ratified in June. 

“I'll propose a budget for your consideration, and that really begins the process, the conversation, the back and forth that will get us to a final budget,” Kamras said to the board. 

Kamras is set to present the proposed RPS budget to the school board between January and February. The board will review the proposal through a series of hearings, making adjustments as needed. By late February, the board is expected to approve the budget and forward it to Mayor Danny Avula. During March and April, Avula will integrate the RPS budget into his overall proposal for review by Richmond City Council.

RPS’ three main priorities for its budget proposal are funding its long-term strategic plan, Dreams4RPS, meeting collective bargaining negotiations and addressing any remaining allocations from federal COVID-19 funds. 

The school system’s English learner student population grew by 19% during the 2023-2024 academic year, alongside a 17% increase in the Latino student population. To address the needs of these rising populations, the school division requires 55 additional English-language learner teachers, at an estimated cost of $5.5 million. 

At the state level, Gov. Glenn Youngkin has proposed an additional $5.7 million in funding for RPS for the upcoming fiscal year. However, Kamras noted that the budget process is still in its early stages.

“I want to caution anyone from reading too much into that, as this is really just step one,” the superintendent said.  We don't know exactly how much we're getting from the state.” 

The school board is scheduled to hold a budget public hearing on Feb. 4, followed by a budget work session on Feb. 19. Budget work sessions will happen every other week through the end of January and February.