For decades, hundreds of Richmond high school students have been bused daily to the Technical Center on Westwood Avenue to learn everything from barbering to vehicle repair and construction trades. After those courses, students then were bused back to their schools to take regular classes.

In a move to reduce travel time for mostly juniors and seniors in career training, the Richmond School Board for the first time provided $1.5 million in the 2022-23 budget to cover the salaries and expenses of hiring up to 15 teachers to provide math and science courses on the Technical Center campus.

Up to 20 new teachers are being hired to teach those subjects at the campus, according to Richmond Public Schools, and the Free Press has been told at least 11 are already on the campus.

The only problem: Most students were not assigned to take classes there, and the teachers have had little to do other than serving as hall monitors, according to three people employed at the Technical Center who spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern for retaliation.

Fourth District School Board member Jonathan Young, who spearheaded the funding as a first step toward creating a career and technical high school, expressed disappointment after confirming the situation with students enrolled at the Technical Center.

He said they told him that they take vocational programs, but are not enrolled in any other classes there.

“I keep giving this administration the benefit of the doubt,” Mr. Young said. “That is becoming increasingly harder to do.”

Matthew Stanley, RPS spokesman, said the administration has “been busy with the recruitment of teachers and students into these classes and expect the classes to be much fuller in the spring semester.”