Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras’ proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 calls for a $43.7 million increase in spending — the largest increase he has ever asked for, he noted at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
“I fully acknowledge that it is going to be a challenge for us to secure the revenue that is necessary to meet all of those needs,” Kamras said.
Kamras’ “robust budget” for FY26 (which runs from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026) aligns with the five priorities of the district’s Dreams4RPS strategic plan: academics, talent, wellness, engagement and operations.
The budget includes operating costs — like teacher salaries, books and equipment — as well as capital improvements like new roofs and HVAC systems. Last May, a VPM News analysis found that nearly three-quarters of Richmond schools had gone more than 25 years without a major renovation.
“Essential to keeping our kids on track”
“The lion's share of dollars we spend goes to people, and our number one job is teaching kids,” Kamras said.
Multilingual learners are a high priority, with a $5.7 million investment planned to cover new teachers to meet enhanced learning ratios and a training specialist. That money would also fund teacher stipends for the ¡Con Ganas! program and an expansion of the student mentorship program — which helped increase graduation rates last year for English learners.
While the district can’t fund its entire strategic plan, Kamras said, it can begin to chip away at top priorities while responding to faculty asks — like high school testing coordinators.
Katie Richard, who represents the 2nd District, said she almost fell out of her chair when she realized RPS high schools didn’t have testing coordinators.
“Having been in a high school where we have them, it's essential to keeping our kids on track with graduation and catching things, because our counselors have insane cases,” said Richard, who was elected in November.
Meeting collective bargaining commitments
Kamras said the biggest single expenditure in the proposal is meeting salary-increase commitments RPS made in December 2022 as part of a set of collective bargaining agreements with district employees.
“We're just about at $16.5 million,” Kamras said. “This is just to meet the commitments we've already made, or that we are in the process of making.”
Kamras said RPS is currently in negotiations with principals, assistant principals and directors. The budget proposal includes a 3% increase for this group as a placeholder, which would cost just over $2 million.
“As we continue to go down the path of collective bargaining, we just need to be thoughtful about how we sustain these investments in our people and don't set ourselves up to be in a position where we would not be able to meet our commitments,” Kamras said.
Kamras said assuming the district meets its obligation of a 3% increase in teacher pay, the average RPS teacher salary will have increased by just over 40% over the last eight years — from $52,000 to $73,000.
The budget proposal also includes potentially changing annual step increases from 1.17% to 1.25% and adding fertility treatments to RPS’ health insurance plans — which would cost the district $560,000.
“I think not only does it allow us to retain teachers, but it could be attractive, because I know there are counties around us that do not offer infertility treatments for health care and for families that want that, that might get some teachers over to RPS,” Richard said.
However, that addition was paired with a proposed budget reduction to only cover 50% of health care costs for employees, which would save RPS $4 million.
Richard asked Kamras to present a breakdown of what RPS employees could expect to be extracted from their paychecks if the district were no longer to cover 100% of healthcare costs.
“Tough choices about how we prioritize”
At Tuesday’s meeting, Kamras noted that RPS funding primarily comes from the state and city government. The state’s contribution is determined by a combination of a locality's ability to cover its own education costs and a formula based on the amount of staffing required at its schools.
According to the 2024-2026 Local Composite Index calculation, Richmond should cover 57% of its funding, compared to 42% in Henrico County and 35% in Chesterfield County. Based on this calculation, RPS expects to receive significantly less funding from the state than its neighboring localities.
“I think we could plausibly assume that given the General Assembly’s commitment to K-12 education, that we might get closer to $10 million in new revenues from the state,” Kamras said. “Can't say that for certain, but that seems within the realm of possibility.”
The city’s contribution is still to be determined, Kamras said, as Richmond deals with its own collective bargaining commitments and deep infrastructure needs. But RPS plans to request roughly $30 million in additional funding from the city.
“The dynamic leadership of this board suggested, ‘Go big or go home,’” Kamras said.
The city’s funding has increased over the last few years. RPS received over $200 million in FY23, $221 million in FY24 and $239 million in FY25.
Kamras pointed out that $2.5 million — the district’s approximate capital improvement budget in both FY23 and FY24 — does not go very far when making much needed school improvements.
“Everybody on this dais wants to fix all those things tomorrow,” Kamras said. “The money does not exist to do so, and so we have the challenge — but also the privilege — of having to make those tough choices about how we prioritize.”
The district’s capital improvement budget in FY25 was higher than usual because the city council allowed the district to use $10 million from its new school construction budget for maintenance projects.
“So, a little bit of 'rob Peter to pay Paul' on this one, but the city did it with good intention to help us meet our needs,” Kamras said.
Kamras’ proposed FY26 capital budget is $13.6 million and includes major investments to school structures, HVAC systems, and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.
The next school board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 3 at 6 p.m.