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Education and Human Services Standing Committee

March 12, 2026 ·2:00 PM Final

Council Chamber, 2nd Floor - City Hall

Agenda PDF 📹 Watch video Official record ↗

Agenda — 43 items

  1. 1 Persons requesting to provide comments virtually during the public hearings or public comment period held at this meeting, must call the Office of the City Clerk at (804) 646-7955, option 3, by no later than 10:00 a.m., on Thursday, March 12, 2026.
  2. 1 Committee and Other Council Members In Attendance
  3. 2 Call to Order
  4. 2 The Honorable Stephanie Lynch - Chair The Honorable Nicole Jones - Vice Chair The Honorable Andrew Breton - Member
  5. 3 Chamber Emergency Evacuation Plan Announcement and Public Speaker Guidelines
  6. 3 Staff in Attendance
  7. 4 Public Comment Period
  8. 4 Kiley Kesecker, Deputy City Clerk Sophie McGinley, Council Policy Analyst Kimberly Morris, Assistant City Clerk Janet Palmer, Deputy City Attorney Will Perkins, Senior Council Legislative Services Manager Candice Reid, City Clerk
  9. 5 Presentation(s)
  10. 6 Master Facilities Plan and Maintenance
  11. 6 Chair Stephanie Lynch called the meeting to order at 2:04 p.m., and presided.
  12. 7 Facilities and Maintenance Planning CD.2026.072
  13. 8 Discussion Item(s)
  14. 8 Upon the Chair's request, Assistant City Clerk Kimberly Morris provided information on the appropriate way to evacuate the Council Chamber in an emergency along with public speaker guidelines.
  15. 9 Richmond Public Schools (RPS) Updates ~ Jason Kamras, RPS Superintendent
  16. 10 Update from the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer (DCAO) for Human Services
  17. 10 There were no speakers.
  18. 11 Paper(s) for Consideration
  19. 12 There were no papers for consideration.
  20. 13 Board Vacancies
  21. 14 There were no board vacancies.
  22. 14 A copy of the material provided has been filed.
  23. 15 page break
  24. 15 Patrick Herrel, Chief Operating Officer, Richmond Public Schools (RPS), provided an overview of the district’s facilities condition assessment, capital improvement planning, and maintenance operations.
  25. 16 Approval of Minutes
  26. 16 Key points included: •A comprehensive facilities assessment completed in 2024 identified significant deferred maintenance needs. •The initial assessment estimated $7 million in urgent capital needs, with projected needs increasing to $36 million in the current year and nearly $40 million in the following year. •RPS currently maintains 52 buildings totaling approximately 5 million square feet, serving about 22,000 students. •Annual operating funding for maintenance is approximately $6.3 million, which represents 0.7–0.8% of facility value, below typical industry standards. •Between November 2025 and January 2026, RPS received nearly 2,000 maintenance requests, with approximately 75% completed.
  27. 17 January 8, 2026 - Education & Human Services Standing Committee Meeting Minutes CD.2026.063
  28. 17 Mr. Herrel also reviewed the district’s maintenance prioritization system, which categorizes requests as high, medium, or low priority, with high priority issues such as health and safety concerns targeted for response within 48 hours.
  29. 18 February 12, 2026 - Education & Human Services Standing Committee Meeting Minutes CD.2026.082
  30. 18 Committee members discussed facility needs, enrollment trends, overcrowding in certain schools, and the importance of long term planning for school construction, renovation, and potential consolidation.
  31. 19 Staff Report
  32. 19 Jason Kamras, RPS Superintendent, highlighted the importance of continued local and state investment in school facilities, including potential funding opportunities through state programs and a proposed 1% local sales tax dedicated to school construction.
  33. 20 Education & Human Services Standing Committee March 12, 2026 Staff Report CD.2026.077
  34. 21 Council staff provided the committee with the March Education and Human Services Standing Committee staff report.
  35. 21 Richmond Public Schools (RPS) Updates
  36. 22 There were no updates.
  37. 24 Amy Popovich, DCAO for Human Services, provided an update on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. She stated the period for feedback closed on March 6, 2026, and staff was currently reviewing the plan to present it for legislative consideration in late May or early June 2026. She also stated since the release of the draft plan in December 2025, eight community engagement sessions had been held.
  38. 25 DCAO Popovich also provided an update on the upcoming Teen Summit, a regional youth engagement event and initiatives coordinated by the city and community partners. She stated registration for the event reached 1,000 participants within two hours. Committee members were invited to attend and volunteer.
  39. 26 Odie Donald, II, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), provided an update regarding the development of a school funding formula between the city and Richmond Public Schools. He stated that for the current fiscal year, the city applied a model linking RPS funding growth to overall city revenue growth, resulting in approximately $8.2 million in additional funding. He also stated city and school leadership plan to reconvene during the summer of 2026 to further refine the funding model and evaluate long term considerations, including population growth and school capacity. CAO Donald agreed to provide a public facing summary document outlining the funding approach and next steps.
  40. 27 CAO Donald reported that the city’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) was completed ahead of schedule and received an unmodified opinion from auditors confirming the accuracy of the financial statements.
  41. 33 There were no amendments or corrections to the meeting minutes of January 8, 2026 and February 12, 2026, and the committee approved the minutes as presented.
  42. 39 Adjournment
  43. 40 There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:49 p.m.