A speedy resolution?

That may be on the way for a funding roadblock that could disrupt the Richmond School Board’s plan to hire an architectural firm in mid-November to begin the design for a replacement George Wythe High School.

Mayor Levar M. Stoney issued a conciliatory letter to the School Board last week that opened the door.

He pledged to introduce an ordinance Nov. 8 to authorize the transfer of $10.8 million now earmarked for school design from a city fund to Richmond Public Schools.

The funds include $7.3 million from a previous allocation for new schools and $3.5 million left over from construction of three new school buildings that opened this year.

The issue came to light near the end of September when the mayor’s senior adviser, Eva Colen, told RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras the money remained under city control.

Lincoln Saunders, the city’s chief administrative officer, clarified that until the money is transferred to the school system’s control, Sheila White, the city’s director of finance, would not be able to pay any bills the school system presented for design work.

He said she would have been following the City Charter, but he added that he said Ms. White had not faced any such requests and had not issued any opinion about such payments, nor been requested to do so.

If the mayor follows through, City Council could vote on the transfer at its meeting on Monday, Dec. 13. It appears a majority of the council would be supportive in order to move the project along.

The mayor included only one condition. He asked the School Board to provide a justification for seeking to develop a new school with a capacity for 1,600 students on the current Wythe campus on Midlothian Turnpike in South Side — rather than a larger 2,000-seat school which he and Mr. Kamras support.

George Wythe’s current enrollment is listed at roughly 1,400 students, though board members have indicated that not all seats are filled daily.

The mayor expressed concern that enrollment growth would mean the new school would open with 1,600 students or at capacity.

A response letter to the mayor issued this week with the approval of a five-member majority of the School Board stated, “The RPS School Board is moving forward with the construction of George Wythe High School as planned.

“We have hired construction staff and intend to award a contract to design a (replacement high school) that is sized to meet projected needs.”

According to the letter, the School Board majority that took charge of school construction in April settled on a smaller replacement building “considering the construction of a new technical center high school that your office budgeted for in the 2021-2022 Capital Improvement Budget.” City Council approved that budget in May.

The planned technical high school would be built with a capacity for 1,000 students, which the School Board majority believes would prevent overcrowding at the new Wythe building. The board’s letter did not mention the 2,500-vacant seats in existing high schools in North Side that also could ensure crowding is not an issue.

The letter is bears the signa- ture of School Board Vice Chair Jonathan Young, 4th District, on behalf of Mariah White, 2nd District; Kenya Gibson, 3rd District; Stephanie Rizzi, 5th District; and Shonda Harris- Muhammed, 6th District.

School Board Chairwoman Cheryl Burke, 7th District, issued her own letter in response to the mayor, stating that she did not have any data to justify the smaller school.

Mr. Young described her letter as the unofficial view of one member of the board, rather than an official statement.

The board majority’s letter noted as well that “we are also moving forward with Woodville Elementary School,” located in Church Hill. A new building could serve students assigned to Woodville as well as students now attending Fairfield Court Elementary School.

Mr. Kamras on Oct. 14 told City Council’s Education and Human Services Committee that he has halted efforts to get a second request for proposals for a new Woodville Elementary issued “because frankly we do not have the band width” in procurement to do so.

He also said he plans to hold the $3.5 million left from the construction of River City Middle School and Cardinal and Marsh elementary schools to cover the costs of dealing with construction problems that remain in the three buildings because all warranties have expired.

Mr. Kamras said his team projects spending $4 million to $6 million on an architectural team to design and manage the construction of a replacement George Wythe, which would absorb the lion’s share of the remaining $7 million or so dollars, leaving too little, he said, to do Woodville at the same time.

Concerned, the board majority in its letter also included a request to the mayor for an “overview of all outstanding issues (at the three new school buildings) along with associated costs to address them so the district can plan accordingly.”