The Human Cost of Public Budgeting

VPM | By Rich Meagher

Published April 22, 2026 at 6:26 PM EDT

A woman in a red sweater and dark pants addresses school board members seated at a dais. Presentation slides are visible on a screen behind the dais. — Jennifer Blackwell, director of multilingual learner success at Richmond Public Schools, gives a presentation on the district's response to federal immigration enforcement during a school board meeting on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at City Hall.

It’s budget season in Richmond. We know government budgets are important, but they’re about much more than numbers. Rich sits down with an expert to ask: what’s the human cost of budgeting?

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VPM’s award-winning podcast exploring the politics and big issues in the news that are defining life in and around Richmond, Virginia.

Hosted by Rich Meagher, Professor of Political Science at Randolph-Macon College, this weekly show tackles everything from housing and public transportation to education policy and local government transparency.

Each episode features expert guests who provide insights into Richmond’s biggest issues while offering actionable solutions for community engagement. Whether you’re curious about City Council decisions, school board policies, or how to get involved in local politics, RVA’s Got Issues delivers the knowledge you need.

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Rich Meagher

Richard J. Meagher [pronounced MARR] is Professor of Political Science, Director of Social Entrepreneurship at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, and the host of RVA's Got Issues.

Meagher is an expert observer of local and state politics in Richmond and has been featured everywhere from print to television to radio. He is a political analyst for WRIC 8 News, and his commentary and opinion have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and his own RVAPolitics site.

He is also a Faculty Fellow for Brandeis University’s Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation (ENACT), a national program engaging undergraduates in state-level legislative change. Meagher's 2020 book, Local Politics Matters, argues for the importance of participation in city and county politics.

In 2023, he launched the Virginia Amendments Project, a resource for scholars and citizens about amendments to the Constitution of Virginia.

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