It’s official: Richmond Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras will stay on for another four years.

The Richmond School Board voted 6-3 Monday night to give Mr. Kamras a new contract, the details of which have not been released.

Mr. Kamras, whose current contract runs through June 30, is the highest paid school administrator in Richmond’s history, with a current annual salary of $250,000.

The board was under constant pressure from constituents and others who advocated that he remain at the helm of Richmond Public Schools for four more years to ensure continuity and progress, particularly during the pandemic. One group even held a car parade last weekend in South Side to show support for the superintendent.

Mr. Kamras told the board he would leave RPS if his contract was extended for only two years, according to sources.

The three members voting against a four-year renewal were Kenya Gibson, 3rd District; Stephanie M. Rizzi, 5th District; and Mariah L. White, 2nd District.

Following the vote, Mr. Kamras expressed his gratitude and said he loves all RPS students, families and staff.

“Serving as superintendent for RPS has been the greatest honor of my life,” he told the board and the Zoom audience at the virtual meeting. “I am overjoyed to have the opportunity to continue to serve for the next four years.”

He acknowledged, however, that an enormous amount of work is to be done to deal with issues stemming from the coronavirus and to achieve the goals outlined in the district’s strategic plan, Dreams4RPS.

“This can be achieved if we all work together,” he said. “We don’t have a choice because our students are waiting.”

Mr. Kamras also had the backing of Mayor Levar M. Stoney and Richmond City Council President Cynthia I. Newbille for a four-year contract extension. Mayor Stoney issued a statement Monday night applauding the School Board on its decision.

“Fixing decades of underperformance and dysfunction in RPS won’t happen overnight, but Superintendent Kamras has the right plan — Dreams4RPS — and after constant leadership shuffling, RPS families deserve the opportunity to let him see it through,” the mayor stated.

The board reportedly had reached an impasse on the contract, with several members wanting to limit his contract to two years. Several expressed concern over the lack of academic progress of RPS students, from graduation rates to SOL scores, which are below state norms.

Ms. Gibson acknowledged, however, that district stability is of critical importance.

“Right now is not the time to start over, and engage in an all-or-nothing debate when we have so much at stake as a district,” she said, telling the board she would have supported a two- or three-year contract renewal.

Since January when the contract issue became public, parents, teachers, staff and other RPS stakeholders made their voices heard about keeping Mr. Kamras for four more years. More than 200 comments supporting him were submitted and read to the board at its January meeting.

On Feb. 6, more than 80 vehicles drove from Southside Plaza down Hull Street to Blackwell Elementary School during a “#KeepKamras” car parade. More than 1,700 people signed petitions organized by the group that were presented to the School Board Monday night. Around 600 were from people in the surrounding counties.

LaKeisha Williams, a parent, community advocate and teacher for 15 years at Broad Rock Elementary School, participated in the parade.

“I just want to advocate for what’s right for our children and stand up for families who are afraid to talk or speak up,” she said.

“When Mr. Kamras came in, the district was in shambles. In the first eight months, he was cleaning up the mess from the previous administration,” she continued. “After that, he implemented his strategic plan. The pandemic has taken over a year and a half of that plan. Mr. Kamras had to go back to the drawing board to adapt to virtual learning.

“I truly support him. A lot of surrounding district adminstrations praised him for his work, which speaks for itself,” Ms. Williams said.

School Board Chair Cheryl L. Burke expressed pleasure with the amount of input from students about Mr. Kamras and the contract issue.

“I want that overall involvement to continue and be part of the solution,” Ms. Burke said. “We, the board and administration, have no other choice but to be held accountable.”