RICHMOND, Va. — The Richmond School Board approved its budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year on Tuesday, adopting a plan that cuts more than $13 million in proposed spending to address a roughly $20 million shortfall.
The city allocated $248.9 million to Richmond Public Schools (RPS) for the upcoming year — an increase of $9.6 million over the previous fiscal year, yet falling about $20 million short of the district’s original funding request. In response, the board made a series of revisions aimed at tightening expenditures and streamlining operations.
“This budget makes RPS leaner than ever before,” according to documents presented at the June 3 meeting where the revised budget was adopted.
A significant portion of the budget — $16.5 million — is earmarked to fulfill collective bargaining agreements with district staff. This includes a 3% pay raise for all teachers, instructional specialists, and nurses, as well as substantial raises for family liaisons (11%) and support staff (11%). Other personnel, including transportation workers, principals, and facilities staff, will also receive incremental increases ranging from 1% to 6%.
The budget also prioritizes key initiatives, such as allocating $5.5 million to hire 55 multilingual learner teachers and nearly $450,000 to implement a new student information system. Additionally, funds were set aside to bring on HVAC and electrical foremen to bolster facility maintenance.
To achieve savings, the board eliminated 24 vacant teacher positions and three instructional assistant roles, generating an estimated $2.4 million in cost reductions. Several other vacant positions were also cut, with RPS noting that the associated duties will either be absorbed by remaining staff or are no longer necessary.
Further budget tightening included a $4 million reduction in expenses for supplies, textbooks, and software, alongside approximately $125,000 in savings from cutting a junior auditor position in the school board’s audit department. That vacancy, which has remained open for over a year, primarily involved auditing the student activity fund — a responsibility that has since been outsourced.
The elimination of the junior auditor position drew some concern from board members during earlier discussions, with calls to maintain a strong audit function to ensure accountability.
The Richmond School Board undertook the budget revisions after carefully reviewing standards set by the Virginia Department of Education and applying internal guidelines described as “generally more generous” than state requirements.
Despite the necessary cuts, the approved budget reflects a commitment to staff compensation and critical educational services as the district navigates a challenging fiscal environment.
