A Richmond Public School is in the news again for serious violence. The district is notorious for poor academic performance and disciplinary problems. According to Great Schools, 81% of Richmond Public Schools are performing below the state average, with only 10% performing above the state average. The student body is 66% Black and 11% White.
Richmond Public Schools has published a detailed 2023-2024 School Year Budget. The total budget is $520.5 million. The report says there will be 21,819 students, which includes 750 “pre-k students.”
This comes out to a completely unbelievable $23,853 per student. Of this, a staggering $18,163 is just for salaries and employee benefits. This is 76% of the entire budget.
The report itself places salaries and benefits at 76.7% and the cost of “instruction” at 73% of the budget. This does not include the $2.5 million Capital Improvements fund.
According to the 2017-2018 budget, the Richmond School District was somehow making do with only $17,594 per student at the time.
