RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras presented his budget proposal for fiscal year 2024 to the Richmond City School Board at a meeting last night. Here’s an overview of the timeline and what to expect from FY24.
🗓 Budget season 101
Basically it goes: Superintendent ➡️ School Board ➡️ Mayor ➡️ City Council ➡️ School Board
Budget season begins in January with the superintendent’s proposal. The school board considers the proposal and, if approved, sends it to the mayor in February.
The RPS budget is then incorporated into the mayor’s city budget proposal and presented to City Council around March. After holding hearings and considering changes, City Council should vote to approve the budget in May.
If the city budget ends up with more or less RPS funding than originally proposed, the superintendent goes back to the board with proposed changes. If there’s no changes, the school board just has to adopt the final RPS budget.
💸 In store for FY24
FY24 starts July 1 and goes through June 30, 2024. Superintendent Kamras’ proposal includes an Operating Budget and a Capital Improvement Plan Budget.
The Operating Budget covers day-to-day costs of running RPS. It is split into five major investments.
- Compensation | $24.2 million for teacher and staff pay increases
- Student wellness | $1.9 million for a crisis support team and athletics programs
- English learner support | $1.2 million for new ESL teachers and coaches, plus funding for training
- Saving ARP positions | $6.8 million to preserve positions currently funded by the federal American Rescue Plan
- Other priorities | $2.5 million for school renamings, the teacher retention fund, and other school board requests
The proposal also includes $1.3 million in central office cuts. The Operating Budget all adds up to a proposed revenue increase of $35.3 million — $6 million of which is expected to come from the state, with $28.3 million coming from the city.
Meanwhile, the Capital Improvement Plan Budget is for major facility investments. CIP investments include $3.4 million for structural improvements and $3.1 million towards athletics. It totals $9.5 million.
Get into the numbers by reading the full proposal or viewing the superintendent’s presentation via BoardDocs.