RICHMOND, Va. β The Richmond Public Schools board approved a revised collective bargaining resolution in a contentious 5-4 vote Tuesday night, despite strong opposition from educators who packed the meeting room.
The decision came after months of protests, numerous negotiation meetings, and a full list of public comments from frustrated teachers and union representatives wearing red to show solidarity.
"The resulting document still does not accurately reflect union voices, especially considering we never expected to get everything we asked for," one educator said during public comment.
Many educators who spoke before the vote expressed disapproval of the resolution and asked for the vote to be deferred again. They wanted more transparency and several key changes, including a more streamlined grievance policy and stronger language regarding how many items union representatives could negotiate in a contract.
"Why don't we continue the current negotiation cycle using the current resolution and delay any possible changes until after new state representatives take office," one speaker suggested.
However, RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras said the deal protects collective bargaining.
"I do believe last week collectively we struck a great agreement that is a middle ground that I think protects all the core principles of collective bargaining," Kamras said.
The process leading up to the vote Tuesday was a major point of contention mentioned by both sides. In the last month, there were a series of meetings between school administrators and the four union representatives to negotiate the policy's terms.
"Educators showed up in good faith, we asked for open meetings, open dialogue and a chance to shape the politics that affect our classrooms," one speaker said. "Instead, we got silence, confusion and 11th-hour edits."
While some attendees supported the revised agreement, saying compromises had been made during negotiations, the majority of those in attendance left feeling disappointed.
"We compromised and we agreed on what's before you tonight and anybody that's telling you otherwise was not in the room," one supporter said.
Another added, "I believe the compromise reflects fairly what both sides agreed to."
However, most educators in attendance expressed their intention to continue advocating for change.
"We're going to continue marching down the road of progress, we will keep fighting, we'll keep struggling we're going to get organized and we're going to fight to win the schools that our students deserve," one educator said.
After the vote, disappointed educators gathered outside the meeting, chanting "Shame! Shame!" as they left the building.
The Richmond Education Association released a statement, which reads in part:
"The REA is deeply disappointed in the decision that was made last night. When the changes were discussed on Wednesday, representatives voted not to approve the changes. The final language for the latest draft of the collective bargaining resolution wasn't prepared until Friday, November 7, 2025, which left very little time for the REA membership to come together again and discuss them."
Richmond Public Schools released the following statement:
"The Administration shared with union leadership on 10/13 that, in order to have as much discussion as possible, a *final* proposal would not be posted until 11/7. This was so that the proposal could include as much feedback as possible from the meetings held with union leadership. Since then, the Administration held six meetings with union leadership. Altogether, the Administration held 12 meetings with union leadership regarding proposed changes.
"Union members, like every constituent, are allowed and encouraged to connect with the representatives and share their feedback and thoughts. Dozens did so. Additionally, many board members hosted town halls during this time so that constituents could share their thoughts and feedback, on this and any other RPS matter."
The full collective bargaining resolution that was voted on is available here.
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