Richmond Mayor Danny Avula, Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Karmas Kam-res and hundreds of parents, teachers and students celebrated as the ribbon was cut on the rebuilt William Fox Elementary in Richmond’s Fan District neighborhood Wednesday evening.
Just before Valentine's Day three years ago, a fire gutted the school. City council member Katherine Jordan shared this memory from that tear-filled week.
“That morning, on the Fourteenth, our governor came with his own Valentine, which we were all grateful to see him there," Jordan said. "And I couldn’t help make the joke: 'Is there a check in that envelope governor?'"
Fox’s timely reopening, and the modernization of the over century-old-school house’s interior, couldn’t have happened without millions in dollars that were eventually found in the state budget.
“Being mindful that there’s a state surplus, that all our schools should be modernized and safe," Jordan said of the over $1 billion Governor Glenn Youngkin set aside as a "cushion" against future cuts by the President Donald Trump Administration. "I’m gonna ask again, Governor Youngkin please help fund all our schools!”
Delegate Betsy Carr, whose district includes Fox, was on site for the reopening. She said the event was proof the state should invest more in education funds during the next budgeting cycle.
“This is the kind of thing we need to spend efficiently and wisely, for our students,” Carr told Radio IQ.
Governor Glenn Youngkin will get one last crack at a state budget before he leaves office at the end of this year.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
