A Tax Rebate, Richmond Tree Week, and a School Board Meeting
Cheers RVA!
Today will be clear with plenty of sunshine, with a high of 80 and a low of 50 in the evening.
the pulp:
Mayor Stoney has proposed a one-time tax rebate equivalent to the four cent property tax reduction proposed by Reva Trammel of City Council. The “RVA Stay” plan would also include a “Grant Gap Pilot Program” that would provide annual grants to low-income families and a “Freeze Program” that would exempt those 65 and older from real estate tax increases.
Here’s a neat map from the Richmonder showing how the city limits have changed over the years since 1742.
Style Weekly reports on an open forum held Monday evening by the Virginia Repertory Theater. The nonprofit theater company noted it would have to shrink its mission in order to re-grow with audiences, and the possibility of selling the building is on the table.
Richmond Tree Week begins this Friday with over 40 events around the city, via RIC Today.
the dive:
The Richmond Public School Board held its biweekly public meeting this past Monday evening.
Public Comment
The public comment period was brief with only three speakers, including REA Vice-President Anne Forrester who spoke on behalf of the teachers union.
One particular issue echoed during the comments was a lack of compensation for the additional teacher training required by the Virginia Literacy Act, which was passed in 2022 by the General Assembly and begins this school year.
It was noted the training will last 30+ hours, and other counties are either providing additional pay ($750 in Chesterfield, $1k in Henrico) or additional teacher worktime (Arlington County, Loudoun County, Roanoke)
Dreams4RPS
The final draft of the Dreams4RPS plan was approved by the board. Only one council member abstained, with Kenya Gibson saying she wanted to see an associated budget.
Accreditation and SOL Achievements
An update on Richmond’s accredited schools was provided, noting an increase of eight schools over the past 2 years, more than any other public school district in Virginia during that period.
An update on academics was also provided, noting the gains in proficiency across all subject areas.
The board was also presented with data comparing reporting groups, with an emphasis on a 5% increase in scores for economically disadvantaged students in reading.
However the board did discuss the new methodology for analyzing Virginia public schools, which will begin in the 2025-2026 school year.
Superintendent Kamras noted he suspected under the new standards more schools would be considered “off track” or “needing intensive support”. This change would mean the number of accredited schools could decrease, even while the schools are actually making great strides in improvement.
Kamras also spoke specifically to the narrative surrounding RPS’s rising test scores:
the narrative that our scores are going up because we have fewer Black children and fewer economically-disadvantaged children is false.
Board Action and Business
A second read of the 2025-2026 calendar was presented. Much of the debate concerned the tradeoff of adding more teacher work days, adding a specific teacher work day between semesters, and still finishing the school year before June. It was decided to survey all RPS teachers with three options and make a decision at the next meeting.
The Head Start grant, which provides Federal funding for children up to age five, was presented and approved by the board.
New boardmember onboarding was discussed and a November meeting date was set, with members expressing the value they experienced during the onboarding process when they were new to the job.
The Consent Agenda included one item of debate: the issuance of bonuses to principals and vice-principals in the amounts of $10k and $7k respectively. The decision had been approved by the majority of boardmembers via email and the bonuses provided on September 30th, but council members asked for more clarification of the process. The consent agenda passed with only Mariah White of the 2nd district voting no.
RVA Dirt noted this approval of the consent agenda, which included funds for services, was in violation of board policy since it is within 90 days of the Election.
Watch the full meeting here.
the vibe:
It’s nice to be back in your inboxes this morning.
Here’s a sunrise photo from a local redditer in Manchester.
Have a bright sunshiny day RVA!
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