After watching teachers and other Richmond Public Schools employees protest ahead of a budget town hall meeting Monday, Superintendent Jason Kamras said he agrees with their sentiments but is in the position of having to balance the district’s budget in a lean year, which means making tough decisions.

Employees are unhappy about Kamras’ proposal to pause employee raises, eliminate the division’s virtual school and summer school for presecondary students, reduce mental health services, share increased health insurance costs with employees, and lay off 46 central office staff.

“I was notified that my position as manager of custodial services would be eliminated, June 30, 2026,” said Mary Gresham, a nearly 40-year employee with RPS. “I have never had an infraction on my personal record. … I am really confused as to why the custodian manager position and supervisor positions were on the block to be eliminated.”

The superintendent and board members also shared remarks at the meeting, some of which echoed commenters’ dismay about the budget. Board members wore red shirts that said “Fund Schools.”

“There is something extremely wrong with us having to figure out how we’re going to rob Peter to pay Paul,” said Board Chair Shavonda Fernandez, 9th District. “This is not a reflection upon the administration whatsoever. Something is wrong with a budget that is being requested where we have to consider eliminating $20 million.”

Proposed RPS budget has no new raises, central office layoffs, and eliminates summer school

“I’m trying to make the numbers work,” Kamras said.

The proposed budget anticipates receiving an additional $6 million from the city, though Kamras said that is not enough to keep pace with promised raises and other increasing expenses. The state’s contribution is projected to rise by about $7 million, though that number is also lower than it could be because of a more than 1,000-student drop in average daily membership, or ADM, over the course of the school year.

Fernandez and other members, including Katie Ricard, 2nd District, said they have been meeting with Richmond legislators and expressed some hope that more money may be coming to the division. They continued to call on the public to advocate to state officials to support legislation that adjusts the state’s current school funding formula and brings more money to RPS for items like infrastructure.

The budget also is missing $3 million in historic tax credits from the rebuilding of Fox Elementary, which were intended for fiscal year 2027 but were accelerated to help balance this year’s budget.

“We discussed at that time, if we do that, it’s creating a hole for us a year from now,” Kamras said. “Well, it’s a year from now.”

Transparency Questions

The budget has been adjusted at least three times since its first introduction and has been labeled by critics as untransparent, with the division’s teachers’ union calling for an external audit of RPS’ finances.

Before the forum began, the teachers’ union Richmond Education Association held a rally outside River City Middle School, demanding clarity on the budget, reversal of the cuts proposed in a “needs-based budget” and shouting chants like, “Kids need libraries, kids need books. Our schools need money that Kamras took.”

“We should not need to be standing out here today,” said Marquita Yancy, an Open High School student. “Please be transparent with what you’re doing with our money.”

Kamras said all changes made to the budget were in response to questions received from the public, and any errors identified have been corrected. When asked if the budget is completely correct without any errors, Kamras said he “would never say that everything is 100% correct,” but will take any feedback if errors are noticed.

He agreed that the division can make the budget “more user friendly” and is committed to doing so as it involves taxpayer dollars, but also noted that the budget is in the “exact same format” administrators have used for the last eight years.

“So I appreciate that in times where there’s cuts people pay more attention, but I only raise that to say we haven’t changed the format,” he said.

Proposed RPS budget draws criticism, confusion ahead of board meeting

“Why wasn’t there better budgeting for future situations?”

The budget is already audited annually by the state, Kamras said in response to calls for an audit of RPS, and audits are available for anyone to see.

The most recently published audit is for fiscal year 2025. It shows that per-pupil funding has gone up 84% since 2016. Concerns about the drop in ADM and how that might be further impacted as a result of cuts came up during the meeting.

Kamras said ADM has been affected by the federal government’s crackdown on immigration, which has led to many multilingual students leaving RPS. He added that per-pupil spending has gone toward teacher raises and “increased investment in our kids,” which he said has resulted in higher graduation rates and positive test scores.

“I won’t apologize about increased investment in RPS and our kids, and the lion’s share of that has gone into teacher salaries,” he said.

When asked about the calls for the administration to present a needs-based budget, Kamras said that the true needs of RPS “are probably north of $1 billion,” and that he wishes he had “the luxury of asking for hundreds of millions of dollars more.”

New enrollment drops among RPS multilingual students

Just 10 “newcomers” have enrolled in the division as of Aug. 21, down from the total newcomer enrollment of 465 last school year.

Presenting a needs-based budget for fiscal year 2027 that doesn’t include any cuts could lead to another repeat of last year’s budget process, where Kamras asked for a $43 million increase from the city and received less than $10 million extra, resulting in last-minute cuts. Richmond Virtual School teachers, central office employees, families and students would have learned about cuts just weeks before the budget’s final adoption, he said. Kamras also clarified that the layoffs are not guaranteed until the board adopts a budget.

“If we have to make cuts at that point, then I’m telling people with three weeks notice, four weeks notice that they might be losing their jobs,” he said. “And that to me seems irresponsible and disrespectful of our employees and our partners.”

Kamras forgoes future bonuses

During the town hall, Kamras agreed to let go of any future bonuses he would receive.

Kamras’ contract was renewed last May, giving him an annual salary of $275,000, up from $250,000 since his arrival in 2018. Ali Faruk, 3rd District, said the board had discussed in closed session that RPS employees had received raises while Kamras had not since he joined, which was the rationale for his increase.

As part of the contract, Kamras can receive $5,000 for meeting each goal laid out in the division’s Dreams4RPS strategic plan annually, with a bonus of $10,000 if all goals are met. According to Fernandez and Stephanie Rizzi, 5th District, Kamras had not received any bonuses based on the metrics.

As a result, in addition to furloughing himself for five days as part of the proposed budget, Kamras agreed at the town hall to “forgo the opportunity for any bonuses this year.”

“Bottom line is, I think teachers should be rich, and we’re far from it,” he said.

Sofia Barbieri, an eighth-grade teacher at Thomas H. Henderson Middle School, asked in public comment where the bonuses go if Kamras does not take them. Vice Chair Matthew Percival responded, saying, “It stays in that operating fund for all of our general expenses.”

Discussing proposed cuts

Officials answered questions submitted ahead of the town hall, including how RPS can retain employees when raises to pay are paused and how students will be supported under the cuts.

Kamras and board members responded first by saying that the division is prioritizing putting funding back into these areas if money is available.

But in the meantime, employee appreciation from school leaders, like principals, is necessary, as he said that leadership is a common reason employees leave. He also emphasized no cuts have been made to literacy but added that “some very minor cuts” were made to graduation, which he believes the division can maintain through grant funding.

Asking employees to share in health insurance increases was foreshadowed during last year’s budget process, officials said. Those cuts were later retracted. That also applies to Richmond Virtual Academy, which Kamras proposed cutting as far back as 2022.

“I asked [a student] how you’re doing today. She said, ‘pretty good, I haven’t threatened to kill myself yet today,’” said Paul Laurenz, career and technical teacher at Richmond Virtual Academy. “Richmond Virtual Academy is an answer. We’re not a problem.”

Other issues

At one point during Fernandez’s presentation, a member of the audience shouted, “What about black mold?” Last year, teachers spoke out about visible mold and asbestos in Elizabeth D. Redd Elementary School before students were expected to return from summer break.

“You can’t breathe in black mold every day,” they continued. The individual was later escorted out by school security.

Kamras told attendees that he does not want to make these cuts and acknowledges the incoming impact they will have on the school community but has a responsibility to do so.

“I do not want to make any of these cuts. Unfortunately, I am in the position, though, of also trying to advise the board on how to ensure that we remain fiscally solvent,” he said.