Mayor Levar M. Stoney Statement on Richmond Public Schools Budget Adoption

The school board faced a number of tough decisions in crafting this budget, and I appreciate it choosing to pass a plan that prioritizes students and teachers. I am committed to identifying the resources needed to provide our students with the learning opportunities they deserve. Fully funding Richmond Public Schools would be easier if the Commonwealth of Virginia would step up and fulfill its constitutional obligation to adequately support K-12 education. Virginia’s current approach to funding public education is not only inadequate and inequitable, it is unjust and immoral. The Commonwealth needs to do more for Virginia’s children, especially those growing up in poverty. The RPS adopted budget demands a lot from the City of Richmond. We have our own tough decisions ahead, but our kids deserve nothing less than our bold leadership.

Mayor Stoney Appointed Chair of Key US Conference of Mayors Committee

Mayor Levar M. Stoney is being tapped by the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) to develop a “proactive, strategic agenda” as the new chairman of the USCM’s Children, Health and Human Services Standing Committee.

“Mayor Stoney has demonstrated leadership, commitment and a collaborative approach to meeting the needs of children and families in the City of Richmond,” said USCM president Steve Benjamin, the mayor of Columbia, South Carolina. “We’re grateful for his willingness to chair this important committee, and are excited for him to share Richmond’s recipe for success with USCM cities and localities across the country.”

Over the last two years, the Stoney administration has brought national attention to Richmond with numerous successful initiatives to benefit children and families.

Working with private, community and nonprofit partners, the administration implemented a critically important expansion of after-school programs for city school children and formed a partnership to provide tablets and internet access to incoming public high school freshmen. The administration also created a free ride program on the city bus system for students, and launched the successful “Change for RVA Schools” initiative, which generated $150 million to finance the construction of three new schools.

 
Focusing on the welfare of residents and working families, the Stoney administration is well on its way toward meeting the promise of building 1,500 affordable housing units by 2023, and just weeks ago announced the first eviction diversion program in the Commonwealth of Virginia, designed to help vulnerable residents avoid the devastating impact of losing their home.

This year, the administration also achieved the highest Municipal Equality Index (MEI) score in Virginia, a program sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign that measures the support for LGBTQIA+ communities within American localities. 

Richmond’s nationally recognized Office of Community Wealth Building has expanded its Center for Workforce Innovation to improve the city’s workforce development programs. And in 2017, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded Richmond its Culture of Health Prize, in recognition of the city’s initiatives to build a culture of health throughout the city.

“I thank Mayor Benjamin for this opportunity,” said Mayor Stoney. “We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished in Richmond, and I’m looking forward to working with my fellow mayors to advance our successful initiatives nationwide.”

More information about the US Conference of Mayors can be found here.

-->

Education Compact Quarterly Meeting - February 6

Last night, Mayor Stoney convened the first Education Compact Quarterly Meeting of 2019.
Please click to find relevant material: Education Compact Presentation, Multi-Year School Capital Funding Plan and the Dreams4RPS: 5-Year Cost Estimate of Strategic Plan

All members of City Council and School Board are expected to attend these quarterly meetings.

In addition to Mayor Stoney and Superintendent Kamras, the following were in attendance:

City Council 

    •    Chris Hilbert (3rd District)
    •    Kristen Larsen (4th District)
    •    Ellen Robertson (6th District)
    •    Cynthia Newbille (7th District)

School Board
    •    Liz Doerr (1st District)
    •    Scott Barlow (2nd District)
    •    Jonathan Young (4th District)
    •    Cheryl Burke (7th District)
    •    Dawn Page (8th District)
    •    Linda Owen (9th District)

The following were absent:

City Council

    •    Andreas Addison (1st District)
    •    Kim Gray (2nd District)
    •    Parker Agelasto (5th District)
    •    Reva Trammell (8th District)
    •    Mike Jones (9th District)
School Board

    •    Kenya Gibson (3rd District)
    •    Patrick Sapini (5th District)
    •    Felicia Cosby (6th District)

Please visit the Education Compact website for videos, future meetings and more information.

Joint Statement from Richmond Leaders on Virginia General Assembly Education Funding Proposals

Mayor Levar M. Stoney, Richmond City Council President Cynthia Newbille, Richmond Public Schools Board Chairwoman Dawn Page and Superintendent of Schools Jason Kamras released the following statement:

The budgets proposed by the Virginia house and the senate fall far short of what Virginia’s students and teachers need and deserve, cutting millions of dollars from the investments proposed to them in December. The governor’s proposed budget should have been a floor – and not a ceiling – for K-12 funding, and the Virginia General Assembly has let us down again. Although we appreciate the commitment shown to addressing teacher salaries, these budgets ignore the stark reality that state funding for K-12 education is still down 9% since the 2009 recession. Every year that goes by without meaningful new investment is another year that we are leaving a class of students behind.

In Richmond, our state funding needs are even more acute with our state distribution down 19% since the 2009 recession. This inequity must be addressed to give our city the tools it needs to fully fund and improve our schools. Yet the legislature is ignoring the critical At-Risk Add-On program and has cut its proposed increases that would help direct funding to our Commonwealth’s students who need it the most.

Fortunately, there is still time for the legislature to sufficiently increase funding for the At-Risk Add-On, support staff positions like school counselors, school construction and other key initiatives to help fund the true cost of education. We urge members of the General Assembly to make K-12 education a top priority and send a clear message that our Commonwealth is committed to giving every Virginia student the educational resources they need to succeed academically in a safe and healthy environment.

Mayor Levar Stoney Announces Virginia's First Eviction Diversion Program at 2019 State of the City Address

Mayor Proposes Key Initiatives to Build an Inclusive and Competitive City

Mayor Levar M. Stoney delivered his 2019 State of the City address this evening, unveiling bold and ambitious, first of their kind initiatives to further Richmond’s progress as an inclusive and competitive city serving the needs of all Richmonders.

Speaking before a packed auditorium at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, and streaming online via Facebook, Mayor Stoney announced the creation of a new, first of its kind Eviction Diversion Program, and inclusion in his 2019-20 budget of a 20-year capital improvement plan to make needed investments in city streets, sidewalks, community centers and city transportation fleet, among other priorities. 

The pilot Eviction Diversion Program is a new partnership between the city and Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, Housing Opportunities Made Equal and city courts system. Mayor Stoney said the program incorporates pro-bono attorney representation and financial assistance to support eligible tenants, mediation between landlords and tenants and payment plans to ensure landlords receive tenants’ rent due in a timely fashion.

Mayor Stoney announced a new city lactation policy for nursing mothers, the first of its kind among any city in the South. He made a commitment of support to renaming the Boulevard to Arthur Ashe Boulevard as well.

“This is what it means to be inclusive,” said Mayor Stoney. “This is what makes us more competitive; and that’s what building ‘One Richmond’ is all about.”

In reviewing his administration's significant accomplishments of 2018, Mayor Stoney proclaimed, “I can say without equivocation – and with pride and gratitude – the state of our city is strong!” Adding, “Richmond is competing, and it is competing at a higher level than it has in a long time.”

Examples of these 2018 successes included new investments in education and the groundbreaking of three new public schools, a new Department of Citizen Service and Response, achievements in multimodal transportation and affordable housing, establishment of the Shockoe Alliance to advance the future of the Shockoe area and raising Richmond’s Municipal Equality Index (MEI) score to 94. 

The MEI is the Human Rights Campaign’s measure of a locality’s responsiveness to the LGBTQIA+ community, and Richmond achieved the greatest score increase of any locality in the United States in 2018, and highest score in the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

Mayor Stoney cautioned the city would not rest on the laurels of success or progress made, but let the audience and viewers know he is still excited about Richmond’s future and achievements made to date, “I am so excited about the possibilities for our city. I am so confident we will be successful because all of you are here with me on this journey. Together, this city is working. This city is moving forward. And we are not turning back.”

The mayor's State of the City address, as prepared, can be found here.

Download additional information about the Eviction Diversion Program here.

Watch the video played during tonight’s address here.

Click here to see full video