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Mayor Levar Stoney (center) meets with Richmond City Council and School Board representatives at the Library of Virginia. (Photo by Tina Eshleman)
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Mayor Levar Stoney meets with Richmond City Council and School Board representatives at the Library of Virginia. (Photo by Tina Eshleman)
Those in need of a quick, clear explanation of the RVA Education Compact initiated by Mayor Levar Stoney’s administration can find it in the summation that Thad Williamson, the mayor’s senior policy advisor for opportunity, presented this week at a joint meeting of the Richmond City Council and School Board.
Here are two core reasons it is needed, Williamson says: “The first is, the depth of the challenges that Richmond Public Schools face in our context of extraordinarily high levels of child poverty and related issues require that we take an approach that combines efforts inside the classroom and outside the classroom, focusing on the whole child. That requires [Richmond Public Schools] and a variety of city agencies and others to work together constructively. The second is simply that the way our local government is structured can, if we’re not intentional about it, lead to unnecessary conflict rather than progress on shared goals.”
He outlined three key points in a draft resolution for adopting the Education Compact, amended after receiving input during public meetings in each of the city’s voting districts:
1. A commitment for the City Council and School Board to meet together on a quarterly basis. “Those meetings will focus on areas of mutual interest with respect to the needs of families,” Williamson says.
2. Establishment of a local Children’s Cabinet so that those working in social services, parks and recreation, libraries, and community wealth building can connect with their counterparts in Richmond Public Schools “who are touching literally the same families so they can do shared work, better work, together and identify opportunities to make progress.”
3. Development of an Education Compact Team consisting of representatives from the School Board, City Council, the school superintendent and mayor’s staffs, and community stakeholders in the philanthropic and business communities, as well as parents and teachers, to make recommendations. “The biggest two issues at this time would be a real solution on facilities funding and a real solution on long-term operating funding so that RPS has the security … to move its plans forward, knowing that there would be a certain level of resources available,” Williamson says. “The third — this would be mostly done with input from professionals, but with this compact team at the table as well — is to work toward a shared progress and accountability matrix so that as time goes on, we understand what everyone is attempting to do and can measure progress accordingly.”
While generally supportive of the plan, School Board and City Council members expressed some concerns, among them that the Education Compact Team could advocate for charter schools, and that the process could undermine the authority of the next school superintendent.
“I think it’s important for us to come together in the name of our children; however, I don’t think that setting the academic metrics in place before we install a superintendent — before the School Board installs a superintendent — would be wise,” says Kim Gray, the 2nd District Council representative and former School Board member.
Scott Barlow, her counterpart on the School Board, agreed: “It’s important for us to have an expert at the helm when we’re making critical decisions about the future of our school district. It’s important that we keep an eye out for some of the concerns that folks have brought up, such as [those] related to the charter-ization or privatization of our schools. It’s important to be on the lookout for mission creep and people overstepping their bounds, or entities overstepping their bounds.”
Cynthia Newbille, the 7th District Council member, countered that projects such as upgrading facilities don’t need to be delayed. “There are things we can start on so that when our new superintendent is here … we’re ready to go,” she says. “We cannot wait if we’re talking about getting in front of some of the challenges.”
First District School Board member Liz Doerr echoed: “We don’t necessarily need a new superintendent to start having those conversations about how we get real about facilities and how we fund the facilities improvement plan that the prior School Board approved [last fall]. … I don’t think any of us want to delay and wait another year to take action for our kids.”
Monday afternoon’s meeting, where spectators and reporters filled most of the chairs in the Library of Virginia lecture hall, did not include time for public comment.
Doerr suggested ensuring that future Education Compact meetings are public, that they’re recorded and that they include bilingual resources.
Kristen Larson, the 4th District Council representative and former School Board member, says at least some of those meetings should include a period for public comment. “I know that folks are always open to pick up the phone and call you or email you, but there’s something different about hearing a public comment in a public meeting where other people hear it as well and can digest it and then weave that into your meeting and the conversations that you’re having.”
