Richmond Public Schools is getting a $15.3 million federal grant for HVAC upgrades, a crucial step in the district’s efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs among its aging facilities. The funding, part of a broader initiative to enhance school infrastructure, will target 22 RPS buildings, addressing long-standing issues in a school system where the average facility is 62 years old.

In a press conference and infrastructure tour at John Marshall High School last Thursday morning, Superintendent Jason Kamras shared the school division’s plan for building improvements.

“We want to rebuild John Marshall and the rest of the schools that need it,” Kamras said. “We are in the work of fixing things up as best as we can with the resources that we have.”

The federal grant, which was announced by U.S. Sens.

Tim Kaine and Mark Warner on Aug. 6, was through the Inflation Reduction Act. The HVAC grant will be distributed among 22 RPS facilities: Bellevue Elementary, Carver Elementary, Fairfield Court Elementary, Francis Elementary, McClenney Elementary, Obama Elementary, Redd Elementary, G.H. Reid Elementary, Southampton Elementary, Swansboro Elementary and Westover Hills Elementary, Albert Hill Middle and Binford Middle, Armstrong High, Community High, John Marshall High and Thomas Jefferson High. Other schools slated for an upgrade include, Amelia Street School, Franklin Military Academy, Maymont and Summer Hill Pre-schools and Richmond Alternative School.

RPS happens to be the only division in Virginia to receive the grant, as well as one of only 16 school divisions across the country. The upgrades will decrease energy costs while also improving air quality. The school division has encountered many crumbling infrastructures within their facilities, with the average age of schools needing an energy upgrade being 86 years old.

“That’s a big deal because it’s hard to learn if you’re cold or if you’re too hot,” Kamras said.

The funding for the grant was made possible by the 2024 Renew America’s School Prize (RASP), which is a $190 million investment program from the U.S. Department of Energy for creating healthier learning environments and cutting costs for public schools by improving facilities and making energy efficiency upgrades.

“By investing in clean energy, we are taking steps to combat climate change, create jobs and build healthier communities,” Kaine said. “As a former Richmond Public Schools parent, I’m thrilled Richmond Public Schools, the sole recipient in Virginia of funding through this grant program for this year, is receiving this funding to help students, educators, and the greater Richmond area and cut energy costs and save taxpayers money.”

John Marshall High School senior Kaileigh Wilson-Porter at the press conference said while she is grateful for the educational experience throughout her four years, she expressed bittersweet thoughts about the upcoming improvements to her school.

“With the construction going on, the underclassmen after me, they get to see these changes and I’ll be gone by then, but they get to see the school flourish,” Wilson-Porter said.

Beyond the HVAC upgrades, RPS is undertaking several renovation projects across the district. Following the press conference, Jon Balasa, the school division’s director of school construction, led a tour of John Marshall’s courtyard.

He explained that since the beginning of summer break, the high school has been undergoing significant renovations. The courtyard walls are being reconstructed with horizontal-ribbed metal panels replacing the original brickwork, a change designed to improve energy efficiency. New window and door frames also are being installed. Balasa noted that an abatement process was necessary before laying the new foundation. Currently, the courtyard remains overgrown with tall weeds and grass, but plans are in place to transform it into a maintained space for student lunches, outdoor learning and gardening.

The wall is expected to be completed by early October and cost roughly under $3 million.

“This is a good example of when there’s been decades of disinvestment, it ends up costing us a lot more in the long run,” Kamras said. “If you don’t take care of your house, things start falling apart and it costs you a lot in an emergency repair and that’s where we are in the system for over 50, 60, 70 years.”

Kamras said there is some “relief” the school division is finally receiving more funding toward its schools.

“The city really has stepped up,” he said. “Because of that, we were able to build more buildings and that is no small feat ... we just have a lot more to do.”