RPS cites limited maintenance funding amid mold problems. Here's what financial records say.

RICHMOND, Va — When frustrated parents met with Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras after mold concerns shut down the first week of school at Barack Obama Elementary, he attributed a root cause to the building's "chronic HVAC issues."

But he also told parents that the district's ability to make necessary repairs is hampered, because it does not get enough money to meet its maintenance needs.

“On an average year, we have $2.5 million dollars to do maintenance on our buildings," Kamras said.

In a letter sent to families on Monday, while addressing the Obama situation, he reiterated that statement.

"Unfortunately, our maintenance needs far outstrip our maintenance funding. A professional, independent analysis of our buildings estimated that we will need about $680 million in repairs over the next 20 years, but we typically receive only about $2.5 million per year to make these repairs," Kamras wrote.

So, CBS 6 looked through RPS' financial records over the past five years, and here's what they showed.

For three of those fiscal years — 2023, 2024, and 2026 — school board reports showed RPS did receive between $2.2 and $2.5 million for school maintenance.

But in 2025 and 2027, the current fiscal year, RPS received $17.6 million and $9.9 million respectively.

Those numbers reflect the "adopted" budget, which is the amount of money the city gives RPS in a given year.

However, the "amended" budget, which accounts for the total appropriation for the year, shows higher numbers:

• FY23: $6.2M
• FY24: $4.7M
• FY25: $22.1M
• FY26: $20.8M
  

RPS spokesperson Kylie Brown said the higher "amended" amounts reflect funds carried over from prior years that were earmarked for projects that had not yet been completed.

WATCH: 'Waiting an extra week to go has been hard' for Obama Elementary student

CBS 6 asked Councilmember Stephanie Lynch, who chairs the council's education committee and is involved in setting RPS' budget, for her thoughts on the numbers.

“Do you think that the statement that RPS only gets $2.5 million from the city every year fully captures the whole picture?” reporter Tyler Layne asked.

“I don’t. I think it was some two years ago we gave them a $17 million appropriation," Lynch said.

Lynch acknowledged that RPS' maintenance needs are significant and deserve more funding.

But at the same time, she said the budget negotiations between council and schools need more transparency.

“We have some unanswered questions around the timelines and the exact budget amounts, and if there's leftover money, for example, at the end of the year, which I know there might be. I think that kind of points to some workflows, some systems problems, and that's not a knock on RPS," Lynch said.

RPS said it is not unusual for capital funds to carry over into future years, because some major projects can only be done while students are out of school.

But Lynch pointed out that the school board financial reports show yearly leftover balances up to $10 million, even after accounting for encumbrances, the money already committed to specific projects.

“I think the public and I'm sure the school board is going to want to drill down and get more answers on that," Lynch said.

CBS 6 asked RPS what the unspent balances represent for the recent fiscal years if encumbrances are already accounted for. We're still waiting for a response.

In fiscal year 2026 specifically, financial reports showed a $9.6M unspent balance. Brown said that balance reflected funding for projects not completed during the fiscal year. She cited the construction of a bus loop at G. H. Reid Elementary as an example.

CBS 6 also reviewed a recent audit of RPS' facilities maintenance system.

Auditors found RPS' current in-house process for managing work orders is "not reasonable," meaning the identified issues are "detrimental" to RPS.

The cited problems include how work orders are verified and prioritized, as well as evidence that RPS paid for services it never received.

The audit said RPS is in the process of implementing a new, improved system.

Separately, in the current budget, RPS eliminated multiple facilities roles including a facilities planner, a manger of custodial services, and three supervisors of custodial services. RPS said none of these cuts contributed to the mold problems at Obama.

"RPS had to make difficult decisions about position cuts to keep school building personnel as safe as possible," Brown said when asked about the cuts.

As the district's infrastructure challenges continue to grow, Lynch said she believes it may be time to have "uncomfortable" conversations at consolidating schools.

“Do you feel like over the years, the city has underfunded RPS?” Layne asked.

“No, I can say with absolute confidence that we have given RPS more than the appropriate level of what we have done, and we've done that because we made a commitment and invested into our children and students," Lynch said.

She added, "They will routinely ask for $20 and $30 million more dollars every single year, and the number of students is actually declining.”

CBS 6 reached out to the city administration about the financial reports and the city's funding for RPS facility maintenance. We are still waiting to hear back.

We also requested an interview with RPS for this story, but Brown declined, saying the district was still in the process of preparing budget information for the school board.

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