The Education and Human Services Standing Committee met on April 9, 2026, at 6:45 PM. Committee members present included Vice Chair Jones, Councilmember Braxton, and Chair Lynch participating virtually via Microsoft Teams. The committee heard public comments on the Richmond Public Schools (RPS) budget, recommended appointments to several boards and commissions, and received presentations from the Human Rights Commission and the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts.
Can you read the chamber emergency evacuation announcement? Upon accordation of the emergency alarm signal, all person should immediately exit the building. Please use the exits to the left or right front of the council chamber or the east or west there, where outside the rear doors of the chamber. Able person should assist visually and hearing impaired visitors with exiting the building. Individuals wishing to speak during public hearings in the public comment period are generally allowed three minutes to speak. Persons appearing before the committee are not allowed to campaign for public office, promote private business ventures, use language of a personal nature, which insults or demeans any person, including comments directed at public officials or staff members that are not related to their official duties or address a staff, address or question staff members directly. All questions are to be directed to the committee chair. Failure to adhere to the guidelines may resort in speakers forfeiting any remaining time and further disciplinary action as necessary, which could include barring from attendance at future meetings of the committee for a period of six months. And Madam Vice Chair, all members of the committee are in attendance today, with the exception of Ms. Lynch, and you do have a quorum. Is she online yet? Let me check. No, I don't see her. We can't keep going until she get on. Okay. So Madam Clerk, can we move with public comment? Public comment is now open. Is there anyone present who wishes to address the committee regarding items not on today's agenda? Okay. Come forward, state your name for the record, please. Good evening, everyone, Dr. Jaclyn Johnson Wilson. I would like to address regarding RPS budget. Is that something that I would comment on now? Or at the some other point? No. No. Okay. Please say your name for the record. My name is Dr. Cindy Robinson. Good afternoon, Richmond City Council. I am Dr. Cindy Robinson, principal of Richmond Virtual Academy. I am here to speak in full support of the school board's budget request. A city's budget is a statement of its values. I acknowledge the proposed 257 million local allocation is a massive investment. But a record investment is only a success if it achieves the goal. Today that goal is strategic excellence, ensuring every Richmond family chooses us and every effective educator stays with us. The landscape of education in our region shifted this week. While our neighbors in Henrico are retreating and limiting their virtual options, Richmond has the opportunity to lead. By maintaining our comprehensive K-12 program, RBA becomes the premier destination in Central Virginia, perfectly positioned to become a VDOE approved multi-district online provider. Why would we shrink our vision just as our neighbors are narrowing theirs? We must dispel the myth that RBA is a cost center. In reality, we are a model of fiscal efficiency. As this council reviews a facilities report highlighting nearly 40 million in urgent deferred maintenance for our physical buildings, RBA stands as a really evalve. We educate our scholars at nearly half the cost of brick and mortar schools because we operate without that massive facility overhead. RVA is actually our primaries, our district primaries tool to reclaim the thousands of families lost to the private school market, homeschooling, or simply no shows. Every family we recruit back brings state revenue directly into Richmond's coffers. We are an align item to be cut.