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Education and Human Services Standing Committee

March 13, 2025 ·2:00 PM Final

Council Chamber, 2nd Floor - City Hall

Agenda PDF 📹 Watch video Official record ↗

Agenda — 59 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 13, 2025.
  2. 1 Committee and Other Council Members in Attendance
  3. 2 Call to Order
  4. 2 The Honorable Stephanie Lynch - Chair The Honorable Andrew Breton - Vice Chair The Honorable Nicole Jones - Member The Honorable Katherine Jordan - Council Vice President (late arrival)
  5. 3 Chamber Emergency Evacuation Announcement and Public Speaker Guidelines
  6. 3 Staff in Attendance
  7. 4 Public Comment Period
  8. 4 Janet Palmer, Deputy City Attorney Kimberly Morris, Assistant City Clerk Will Perkins, Senior Council Legislative Services Manager Candice Reid, City Clerk RJ Warren, Deputy City Clerk
  9. 5 Presentation(s)
  10. 6 There were no presentations.
  11. 6 Chair Stephanie Lynch called the meeting to order at 2:09 p.m., and presided.
  12. 7 Discussion Item(s)
  13. 8 Richmond Public Schools (RPS) Updates
  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 FY26 Operating and CIP Budgets REVISED Proposal to the Richmond City School Board CD.2025.075
  16. 10 Family Crisis Fund Update ~ Dominic Barrett, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Human Services
  17. 10 Rhonda Sneed, Blessing Warriors Executive Director, stated her concerns about food quality at the Salvation Army overflow and inclement weather shelter.
  18. 11 Homeless Shelter Status
  19. 11 Chair Stephanie Lynch stated there would be a meeting to address the issue of meals served at shelters. She also stated the committee would follow-up to ensure the funding that was allocated for meals would be utilized properly.
  20. 12 Paper(s) for Consideration
  21. 12 page break
  22. 13 There were no papers for consideration.
  23. 14 page break
  24. 15 Board Vacancies
  25. 16 There were no board vacancies.
  26. 16 Family Crisis Fund Update
  27. 17 Approval of Minutes
  28. 17 Dominic Barrett, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Human Services, provided an update on the Family Crisis Fund.
  29. 18 January 16, 2025 - Education & Human Services Standing Committee Meeting Minutes CD.2025.073
  30. 18 Vice President Katherine Jordan arrived at 2:17 p.m.
  31. 19 February 13, 2025 - Education & Human Services Standing Committee Meeting Minutes CD.2025.074
  32. 19 Vice Chair Andrew Breton stated there were concerns that the influx of water crisis needs could crowd out other crisis concerns. He also inquired about the impact to the Family Crisis Fund and what the timeline was to administer assistance from the Family Crisis Fund.
  33. 20 Staff Report
  34. 20 Mr. Barrett stated assistance was provided on a first come first serve basis, and traditional family crises assistance would not be impacted. He also stated regarding evictions, requests would be referred instead to the Eviction Diversion Program, and that the process could take a few days to a month to receive assistance.
  35. 21 Vice Chair Breton asked what was the cost of the program.
  36. 22 Mr. Barrett stated there was no direct cost that had been incurred except in-kind contribution of staff time.
  37. 24 Tiffany Ford, Director of Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, gave an update on the inclement weather shelter status, the overflow shelter and cost, the transition plan for clients after the closing of the shelter, the community resource and training center, and budget information.
  38. 25 Vice Chair Andrew Breton asked what was the difference between the inclement weather shelter and the overflow shelter. He also asked for demographic and cost information.
  39. 26 Ms. Ford stated the inclement weather shelter ran from November 15th to April 15th, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m., and the overflow shelter was in response to a need. She also stated the demographic is primarily men, and the amount of families they receive was minimal.
  40. 27 Member Nicole Jones asked about the cost to support the shelter. She also asked for an estimated number of families that needed shelter.
  41. 28 Chair Stephanie Lynch stated a more robust community discussion would be held on March 26, 2025, at 3:00 p.m., regarding shelters.
  42. 29 page break
  43. 31 Jason Kamras, RPS Superintendent, provided the committee with an update regarding the revised proposed fiscal year 2026 RPS budget request.
  44. 33 A copy of the material provided has been filed.
  45. 34 Vice Chair Andrew Breton requested to see benchmarks and statistics on academics, talent, wellness, engagement and operations for more context, and he asked that the data include the last five years.
  46. 35 Chair Stephanie Lynch asked if there was a line item list for the proposed operating budget for RPS.
  47. 36 Mr. Kamras stated that the schools budget had been approved by the school board and submitted to the Mayor's Office. He also stated the information was public and posted on the RPS website.
  48. 37 Member Jones asked if there was any state funding to help offset the budget request.
  49. 38 Mr. Kamras stated the state funding would offset a reduction that resulted from a fund balance change. Mr. Kamras also stated all $30,800,000 would need to be funded by the city.
  50. 39 Member Jones asked if the request included any changes from the school board.
  51. 40 Mr. Kamras stated that the budget was school board approved.
  52. 41 Chair Lynch asked what were the suggestions for reallocation in the operating budget to make up the difference of the new request.
  53. 42 Mr. Kamras stated RPS would fund the increase in employee starting salaries and would not fund the additional twenty-two new positions for safety staff.
  54. 43 Chair Lynch stated Superintendent Kamras would need to meet with individual Councilmembers to discuss the requested budget increase.
  55. 46 page break
  56. 50 There were no amendments or corrections to the meeting minutes of January 16, 2025, and February 13, 2025, and the committee approved the minutes as presented.
  57. 54 Will Perkins, Senior Council Legislative Services Manager, stated he would follow up with Jason Kamras, RPS Superintendent, regarding specifics and materials needed for an upcoming budget work session.
  58. 55 Adjournment
  59. 56 There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:59 p.m.