Richmond City School Board to vote on budget increased by over $30 million for next school year

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The Richmond City School Board will be voting on its proposed budget for the upcoming school year during a business meeting on Tuesday, March 4.  

The operating budget has increased by over $30 million compared to last year’s.  

The school board has broken it down into five categories: academics, talent, wellness, engagement and operations.  

In the academics category, the most money, around $5.5 million, will be going toward multilingual learners. This money is supposed to expand the student mentorship program, which Richmond Public Schools (RPS) said increased multilingual learner graduation rates last year.  

A raise is also proposed for teachers and staff. Teachers, instructional specialists and nurses are looking at a 3% raise. According to the school system, teacher pay has gone up by 41% since fiscal year 2018. 

When it comes to wellness, the primary focus is on mental health and $2 million will go toward keeping mental health partners and counselors in schools.  

The engagement category is homed in on attendance, spending more than $700,000 on maintaining family relations for the Dream4RPS program.  

And lastly, the operations category is focused on the technology platforms the schools use, school phone services and utilities.  

After the school board votes, the budget will go to Richmond Mayor Danny Avula, who will incorporate the budget into his budget for the whole city which is ultimately decided on by the City Council.  

The business meeting will be at the Richmond City Hall at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.