Below is the first draft of the legislation to be introduced by Senator Sturtevant and Delegate Bourne.
SENATE BILL NO. __________ HOUSE BILL NO. __________
A BILL to amend Chapter 116 of the Acts of Assembly of 1948, which provided a charter for the City of Richmond, by adding a section numbered 6.15:3, relating to equal educational opportunities; school infrastructure.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That Chapter 116 of the Acts of Assembly of 1948 is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 6.15:3. School buildings and infrastructure modernization.
(a) Not later than January 1, 2019, the mayor shall formally present to the city council a fully
funded plan to modernize the city’s K-12 educational infrastructure consistent with national standards or inform city council such a plan is not feasible. In fulfilling the duties herein, the mayor shall consult with
the school board and city council, consider cost savings available in state or federal law, and further
provide an opportunity for public participation.
(b) Such fully funded plan required in subsection (a) shall not be based on the passage of new or
increased taxes for that purpose.
(c) Nothing herein shall alter powers previously given to the school board.
(d) Once the mayor has complied with subsection (a), the city council shall have 90 days to take such action as it deems appropriate.
It looks like the Put Schools First Referendum is already doing its work and it has not even passed the GA yet! It’s already forcing more attention and conversation about school renovation.
Will local environmental and faith-based groups join the Sierra Club Falls of the James in calling for energy conservation, green building, and solar roofs to be part of Richmond school modernization?
We know that Dominion and the Richmond Children’s Museum are partnering to put small, ‘experimental’ solar on a few school roofs, but citizens should be demanding that Richmond install large,’working’ solar arrays on public schools (and elsewhere). Other Virginia localities are in the process of doing so now, often at their students’ urging. Below is a link to the Arlington Public Schools’ Solar PPA RFP. Why not RVA? https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/RFP-01FY18-Appendix-I.pdf