City hosting groundbreaking for three new schools on December 19th

Mayor Levar M. Stoney and Richmond Public Schools announced Monday that the city will break ground on three new school buildings on December 19th.

The 1.5% hike in the meals tax, proposed by the mayor and approved by Richmond City Council, is providing a $150 million investment in school facilities, to include replacing the current George Mason Elementary School, E.S.H. Greene Elementary School, and Elkhart-Thompson Middle School.

The groundbreakings will take place at each school site and mark the formal beginning of construction for the new schools, which are expected to be completed and ready for students in the fall of 2020.

“This is another significant step in our progress to invest in the future of our public school students and get them the state-of-the-art schools with the modern learning environments they deserve,” said Mayor Stoney. “We value our students and will continue to fight to provide them with the resources they need to succeed, both inside and outside the classroom.”

“This is an investment in our future,” said Richmond City Council President Chris Hilbert. “The long-awaited action to do something about our city school facilities will be underway before the year’s end.”

RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras echoed the mayor’s and school board chair’s sentiments and said, “I thank our residents and city guests for visiting our restaurants and dining out in Richmond. In this way, we are all investing in our children, and I am excited we are on pace to see the tangible results of this needed investment within the next two years.”

More details of the event will be announced as the date draws near, but Mayor Stoney added his appreciation to all who have worked to pursue this aggressive timeline, “I thank our Chief Administrative Officer Selena Cuffee-Glenn, our Departments of Finance and Procurement, capital projects staff and RPS leadership for working so hard to keep this important initiative on track.”