A School Budget Draft, a Water Outage Map, and Local Artwork
Cheers RVA!
Today will be cloudy with a high of 37 and a low of 19 in the evening. This is the coldest morning of the season so far, and while tomorrow will also be very cold, low temperatures should slightly creep up above freezing over the next few days.
the juice:
RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras presented a first draft of the FY 2026 Budget to the School Board at Tuesday’s Board meeting.
The school fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30, with approximately 2/3 of the funding coming from the City, with the other 1/3 coming from the Commonwealth.
The budget proposal notes the General Assembly is currently working on the State budget which will not be finalized until late spring or summer, meaning RPS must create a budget with incomplete revenue information.
When teachers receive a 3% raise in FY 2026 per the collective bargaining agreement, the overall compounded increase from FY 2018 will have jumped 42%, from an average annual salary of $52k to 73k. Kamras noted this difference represents the ability to pay a mortgage.
The initial proposal also suggests a 50% absorption of health care cost increases into employee salaries (RPS currently absorbs 100%) which would reduce costs by roughly $4 million annually.
Check out the full proposal here.
the pulp:
A group of mapping enthusiasts known as MapRVA has created a map of the water outages in the city from the water crisis two weeks ago. The group typically meets every other week and all our encouraged to join, regardless of mapping experience. They mainly use openstreetmap, a free open-source world map.
City officials announced they have hired HTNB, a large infrastructure firm to conduct an outside investigation into what went wrong at the water plant, with a contract for $234k, via Graham Moomaw at the Richmonder.
Hourly workers for RPS will be compensated for the week of school that was missed during the water outage, via WRIC. Employees will be paid based on the average number of hours worked over the last five pay periods.
RVA Galleries is hosting a Pop-up Art Market benefiting the Friends of James River Park tonight from 5:30 - 8:00 pm at its location at Willow Lawn.
the vibe:
Have an imaginative day RVA!
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