Richmond School Board members unanimously approved the renaming of Richmond Alternative School to Richmond Success Academy on Monday evening.

RPS chief academic officer for secondary schools Solomon Jefferson presented to the board survey responses for the renaming of the alternative school from the school’s staff and students, with the majority of participating students voting to rename the school, Richmond Success Academy. The process of renaming the school began in April when the School Board declared its intent to rename the school.

The survey’s submission period ran from Aug. 22 through 29. The participating students responded with 21 votes for Richmond Success Academy, 18 votes for Richmond Preparatory Academy and 11 votes for Richmond Academy of Excellence. The staff responded with five votes for Richmond Academy of Excellence, three votes for Richmond Preparatory Academy and 2 votes for Richmond Success Academy.

The survey came after a contentious discussion at the last School Board meeting, in which board member Mariah White, 2nd District, ousted the RPS administration for suggesting Richmond Success Academy, even though the proposed name change was not within the School Renaming Committee’s recommendations during two public hearings.

Jefferson assured White that while the school would be renamed, the preservation of the alternative school’s original name will help avoid confusion.

“We’ll make sure the branding is everywhere in the building,” he said. “I’ll work for the communications team and engagement team to ensure that there’s no confusion.”

White then motioned for the renaming of the school, on which all board members unanimously agreed.

“I move that Richmond Alternative School … to be Richmond Success Academy, immediately,” she said.

The board also considered cutting the meeting’s board comments during debate from six minutes to three minutes.

Some members agreed to cut the time to prevent longer board meetings.

“I’ve been an advocate for three minutes,” said board member Cheryl Burke, 7th District. “We can always change it again if the new board comes in and wants to do so.”

However, Kenya Gibson, 3rd district — who also is running for City Council — cautioned her colleagues that motioning for the time cut will prevent the newly elected board’s representation.

“By voting today to limit the [board] comment, we are essentially limiting the voice of the future board,” she said. “The people that vote for us, vote for us to be able to ask questions and have a voice.”

The board members ultimately remained divided on the issue. A motion to limit board comment time, which would have taken effect on Oct. 7, failed to pass. This leaves the current six-minute comment period unchanged for now, with the possibility of revisiting the topic in the future.