A School Board Meeting and the Spreadsheet Version of Richmond
Cheers RVA!
Today will be partly cloudy with a high of 87, and hopefully a bit of a breeze.
the juice:
The Richmond School Board met last night for its bi-weekly meeting.
School Board Chair Stephanie Rizzie announced she would resign as chair at the will of the board, and would continue to serve on the Board when she returns in August.
Boardmember Cheryl Burke expressed her disappointment with the decision and wished Rizzie all the best moving forward.
After Rizzie left the meeting room, the board subsequently nominated and elected Dawn Page as chair, to serve until the end of 2024.
Page has announced she is not seeking re-election to the council.
The public comment section included RPS employees who were extremely grateful that the board was moving forward with signing the collective bargaining agreement. An administrative associate from Fox Elementary was moved to the point of tears in her gratitude.
A parent of a partially deaf child spoke again about the need for American Sign Language interpreters to have continuing contracts (like teachers and other employees), as well as the unethical practice of asking interpreters to substitute as teachers.
A couple of central office employees mentioned the inconsistencies in pay throughout the office as salary decompression took place.
(Decompression is a process where employees can earn more based on prior work experience rather than the pay scale).
The School Board is up for re-election this November with many of the current members running unopposed.
the pulp:
Richmond City Spokesperson Petula Burks resigned abruptly Monday evening, from the RTD. She was the third city employee whose purchasing card had been suspended.
Million dollar townhomes going up on Tobacco Row site, from Jonathon Spiers at Bizsense. Previous proposals for the site at the corner of E. Cary and Pear St. included an 11-story tower with high-end condos and a 7-story building with 47 apartments.
Two arrests have been made in the murder of Wilson Negron who was found dead near Byrd Park on June 12, via channel 6. The suspects have both been charged with 7 crimes including murder, robbery, and carjacking.
the dive:
RVA Mag staff published their editorial roundtable on the upcoming local elections.
It’s a good read to catch the artsy cultural vibe some Richmonders desire and the fear hyper development is spawning the “condo culture” that has altered other rapidly growing cities.
Moderator of the discussion Christian Detres has sat down and interviewed all 5 candidates and offers this opinion:
I firmly believe all of them want to make housing affordable. Addison shared some truly insightful ideas on stopping exorbitant housing prices with carve-outs to keep generational residences in the family. They all have a plan on how to restructure City Hall to better meet the city’s needs. But I don’t think they could name five artists of any note in the city. They don’t have a favorite band. Maybe they have a favorite restaurant. When they do have favorites, it always winds up being someplace with a politically active owner, a convenient anecdote-adjacent business, or heartwarming success story they can guest-star in. It’s never an opinion based on cultural appreciation, only opportunity. They know the spreadsheet version of Richmond. Someone has to, but it cannot be the only thing they understand. They have to know why Richmond is worth protecting from its own growth.
You can read the full article here.
the vibe:
A local reddit user posted this image with the simple title, “Glizzy Season.”
Have a glizzelousesque day RVA!