RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond Public Schools leaders expressed frustration Monday night over an $8.9 million budget shortfall after the final state budget signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger came in far below what the district had anticipated.
RPS adopted its budget in June based on the House version of the state budget, which projected $20,120,655 in state funding. The final state budget delivered only $11,196,570 — leaving an $8.9 million gap.
"I feel the estimates we were given were way off the mark. It just doesn't make sense," said Anne Holton, who represents the 6th District on the Richmond School Board.
The biggest driver of the shortfall was the elimination of a one-time flexible funding proposal from the House of Delegates. School leaders had been counting on that money to fund 4% pay raises, major investments in special education, and school funding formula modernization.
Holton acknowledged the district had been optimistic in its planning.
"In fairness, we knew that we were planning on the rosiest scenarios, but the worst case scenarios we thought we were planning on, was a lot better than what we ended up with so that's my befuddlement," Holton said.
School Board Chair and 9th District representative Shavonda Fernandez echoed that sentiment.
"Some had shared that we would get even more than what we had anticipated and that unfortunately was not the case," Fernandez said.
To close the gap, Superintendent Jason Kamras has proposed a series of reductions totaling $8,925,390:
| Proposed Reduction | Amount |
| Eliminate all 88 annual substitutes (but retain long-term and daily subs) | $4,475,440 |
| Eliminate 15 teacher vacancies, increasing some class sizes | $1,500,000 |
| Freeze all non-instructional vacancies as of 10/1/26 (end of first fiscal quarter) | $1,000,000 |
| Sell all non-essential vehicles and equipment | $630,000 |
| Freeze all spending on all non-required professional development, travel, and supplies | $500,000 |
| Freeze all spending on food for professional development sessions & community meetings | $300,000 |
| Reduce mental health and wraparound support contracts by 10% | $229,950 |
| Reduce summer school spend given remaining grant funds | $200,000 |
| Increase facility rental rates to cover the cost of custodial services | $90,000 |
| TOTAL | $8,925,390 |
Kamras said his team has worked hard to protect schools from cuts.
"I know these are difficult decisions to be made and we have tried very, very hard; this entire government's team, to spare our schools from any of the reductions we have made so far," Kamras said.
He urged the board not to delay a vote too long.
"I also want to note the longer this takes us — and I want you to recall our recent budget season — the harder it becomes to cut," Kamras said.
Kamras said a decision does not need to be made this week, but waiting until the end of summer would be unfair to those impacted.
While the final state budget included funding for a 4% pay raise for teachers, it only covered a portion of the cost. Because the city's local composite index is so high, RPS receives only about a third of the true cost of teacher raises. As a result, pay raises for Richmond teachers will remain at 2%, with a 1% step increase for all teachers in contract positions.
Kamras plans to meet with school principals Tuesday to discuss his proposals.
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