Mayor Avula defends RPS leadership amid mold concerns at Obama Elementary

RICHMOND, Va. — Mayor Danny Avula said he was not surprised teachers were the ones who discovered mold at Obama Elementary School as students returned to class on the Northside.

Avula was asked about the discovery after Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras acknowledged his team, who he said is stretched thin, needed to do better about proactive checks over the summer.

“Not at all. I mean, you know, teachers are the first ones walking into their classrooms, figuring out what the lay of the land, getting the classrooms ready for the school year. So it doesn't surprise me at all, and it doesn't surprise me that we have seen mold, right? We know that we have aging buildings, aging infrastructure. I’ve said 10 of our schools are over 100 years old. 72 of our schools are over 50 years old. All the more reason that we need to be investing in that infrastructure,” Avula said.

Avula, whose wife is an RPS teacher and whose children are RPS students and alumni, said the mold discovery reinforces the need for additional investment in Richmond’s school buildings.

“The 1 percent local option sales tax is one of those ways, but clearly addressing school infrastructure is front of mind as we've restarted the school year,” Avula said.

Avula was also asked whether he has confidence in Kamras’ leadership after the school board recently extended his contract through 2029.

“I've been super impressed with his leadership. If you look at the test results, the SOL results, the academic improvements that we've seen, particularly since COVID, I think this administration has done phenomenal work. And my wife is a firsthand person who's in the system, who is using new curriculum, who has felt the support of the administration. I think we've seen really huge gains as a school system,” Avula said.

Avula said he has also seen a preview of RPS’ latest SOL results, which are expected to be released later this week.

“This work is hard. It takes a long arc and it requires investment. It requires consistency. I'll say one more thing about the mold. You know, I think I understand why teachers and families have expressed a lot of concerns at the presence of mold,” Avula said.

While acknowledging those concerns, Avula said he believes the city and school division need to do more to educate families and teachers about the actual risks associated with mold exposure.

“One of the things in my recent conversations with the school administration is that we need to make sure we're educating the public well about what the actual risks are. The vast majority of people who are exposed to mold? Mold is in and around us every day, right? In your home, in our office, mold is just part of life. Now, when you see it, like the response should be, okay, let's clean it up and do away with it,” Avula said.

Avula said officials need to make sure their response is based on accurate information about the level of risk.

“I think we've got to do more to educate the public, educate families, educate teachers about what the risk actually is, so that we're not making decisions that don't align with the actual risk present. So more work to do there, but you know I'm working with the school system, making sure our public health department is involved, and really trying to get good information out there so people don't jump to the wrong conclusions,” Avula said.

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