Jo Gehlbach, Government Affairs Coordinator.
CITY OF RICHMOND
Richmond School Board to tackle $293 million budget tonight
The Richmond School Board could vote on next year’s budget late tonight, days after Mayor Dwight C. Jones questioned how the school system spent its money and called for a referendum on raising taxes to help fund schools. Tonight’s discussion, which is expected to begin after 9 p.m., is likely to focus on the additional $18 million in funds that Superintendent Dana T. Bedden has requested this year — part of a $293 million overall budget. That budget includes the cost of maintaining services, expanding some programs, restoring some recession-era cuts and adding the equivalent of 138 full-time positions. Bedden’s original statement of needs, presented in December, was $298 million. But the amount dropped after the school system made some additional cuts and the governor released his budget.
As city prepares to elect 3rd mayor, Jones leaves mixed legacy
In his final State of the City address, Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones spent almost an hour touting his accomplishments over the past seven years and laying out his goals as he heads into his final months in office. Richmond gained widespread renown when it hosted the UCI Road World Championships, brought a large craft brewery to the city, expanded the Port of Richmond, constructed four public schools and pursued an ambitious anti-poverty agenda, he said. But for all his successes, Jones’ administration has also been marred by persistent troubles: the safety issues that shut down the city’s juvenile detention center, a Social Services Department found doctoring reports and leaving children in unsafe homes, a Finance Department that struggles to put out basic fiscal reports, and one messy, high-level departure after another.
Lafayette: What do we need in our next mayor?
In November of this year, with the mayoral election, Richmonders will hire a new leader for our city. Between now and then, we will hear several names of potential candidates; and eventually two — possibly three, even four — will mount credible campaigns and one person will receive the voters’ approval. In some ways, the election of a mayor is akin to a search for new, executive leadership of an organization. And all smart organizations, before they initiate a search, undergo an intentional period of discernment. Simply put, they envision their desired future and that vision helps identify the characteristics, talents, and experiences needed in the next leader.
$293 million Richmond schools budget approved
The Richmond School Board approved a $293 million budget Monday night with little fanfare. The $293 million marks an $18 million increase over the school division’s current budget. The budget now goes to City Council, which will make the final decision on how much money the school system receives .For a board that is known for disagreement, Monday’s budget discussion took less than an hour with little friction.
McAuliffe gives ultimatum on city bus rapid transit project
Gov. Terry McAuliffe warned Tuesday that if Richmond opts to delay plans to build a bus rapid transit line on Broad Street, the city could very well lose its federal funding for the project. “If they don’t want it, that is their decision, but we’re not going to wait forever and I will give the money back to the federal government,” McAuliffe said in an interview Tuesday. “They’ll take it back very quickly.” The Richmond City Council is scheduled to vote on the project, called The Pulse, at its meeting Monday. The vote had been scheduled to take place late last month, but the meeting was canceled because of snow.
Speakers weigh in on what Richmond needs in its next mayor
As Dwight C. Jones’ time as mayor of Richmond winds down, members of the public have strong opinions about what they would like to see in the city’s next leader. The top priorities: having a mayor who is focused on improving education, and on uniting people throughout the region. “We need a cheerleader in the mayor’s office and in City Council who says the Richmond public schools are the best place for your babies to be; they’re going to get the best nurturing,” said Michael Clark, who moved to Richmond in 1973.
CHESTERFIELD
The Redrawing Board: As school redistricting begins, experts worry process may worsen inequality
As the School Board considers the first countywide redistricting in Chesterfield’s history, academics warn that it can lead to greater inequality for students across racial and socioeconomic lines if mishandled. “Anytime you have an opportunity to redraw those boundary lines, you have an opportunity to increase the segregation of students or decrease it,” says Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, an assistant professor of educational leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University who has studied redistricting and the impact of housing segregation on schools. “The first step is to make diversity a goal of the redistricting process, absolutely the first step. Once you set that as a concrete goal, then you design the policy accordingly.”
Teachers, parents push to replace Enon Elementary
With a leaky roof, peeling paint and a teacher who fell through a classroom floor, parents and teachers at Enon Elementary say they’ve had enough. Discussion of updating or replacing the school has been in the works since 2004, but some community members are frustrated with what they say is a lack of movement by Chesterfield County Public Schools on the issue. In protest, a 702-member Facebook group titled “Build Our New School” has been created and includes photos of the school’s disrepair. “We’ve spent time painting and duct taping and camouflaging all the different imperfections within our school,” says Angie Reiber, a second-grade teacher at Enon. “We can’t even hide it anymore.”
GOOCHLAND
Schools to Watch program selects Goochland Middle
Goochland Middle School has been named to the Schools to Watch program by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform. The organization chose the school because of its “academic excellence, social equitability and responsiveness to the developmental needs of middle school students.”
POWHATAN
The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors and School Board acknowledged the fact that its members are going to be making some serious and potentially costly decisions in the coming weeks that could have a huge impact on the county’s future. The two boards met for their first joint workshop of the year on Wednesday, Jan. 20 in a genial meeting that focused mostly on updating everyone on the biggest pending issues for Powhatan County Public Schools.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Developers stand to gain power in land-use cases as legislature takes up proffer reform
Legislation working its way through the General Assembly would make it more difficult for local governments to force developers to pay for public infrastructure or change building plans, a prospect that has caused alarm among some local officials who fear it could sharply limit their ability to manage growth. Bills have been introduced in both chambers to dramatically reshape the proffer system, which allows localities to extract cash payments and other concessions from home builders through the residential rezoning process.
Proffer reform bill advances as Richmond-area localities fight to stop it
A bill to shift the balance of power between local governments and developers in Virginia advanced from a Senate committee Tuesday as officials from several suburban Richmond localities tried to stop it. The legislation — which would limit localities’ ability to force developers to pay for public infrastructure to accommodate new residents or change building plans in response to public concerns — passed the Senate Local Government Committee on a 10-2-1 vote.
Grant program to promote regional cooperation is on fast track in Virginia General Assembly
If Virginia’s fractious localities can’t stop squabbling and play nice on their own, state leaders are hoping a monetary incentive will entice them. The projected cost to state taxpayers: $38 million and counting. That’s how much Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe put in his two-year budget for an initiative designed to encourage regional cooperation stoke Virginia’s lagging economy. The initiative is sailing through the Republican-controlled General Assembly with widespread bipartisan support, spurred by a high-powered coalition of Virginia business leaders. Legislation pushed by the Virginia Initiative for Growth and Opportunity in Each Region – GO Virginia for short – won the unanimous approval Wednesday of the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee, a sign that it’s on a fast track to approval by the Assembly.
House passes proffer reform bill with amendment sought by Henrico
The Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill Thursday to make major changes to how localities negotiate public concerns with developers, with a significant amendment planned to alleviate objections by Henrico County. The bill, House Bill 770, would reform the proffer system, which allows local governments to extract cash payments from developers for public infrastructure and request architectural changes through the rezoning process. The legislation would prohibit localities from denying rezoning requests to residential developers based on “unreasonable” proffers. The bill, which caused concern in several of Richmond’s suburban counties, passed on a 68-27 vote.
REGIONAL/STATE
NATIONAL
Economists say houses are a bad investment. Here’s why they’re wrong.
Lots of people think buying a house is a good investment – in fact, many American households have a lot more money invested in home equity than in the stock market. But a lot of economists think people are making a mistake. George Mason University economist Alex Tabarrok is the latest to make the case that housing is overrated as an investment.
Mortgage rates fall for fifth week in a row
Bad news for investors has been good news for home buyers and owners as mortgage rates dropped for the fifth week in a row. Stock indices continued to lose ground this week, and the 10-year Treasury yield sank to near a one-year low. Since the movement of the bond is one of the best indicators whether mortgage rates will rise or fall, the decline in the 10-year Treasury yield foreshadowed lower home loan rates. According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average tumbled to 3.72 percent with an average 0.6 point, falling to its lowest level since April. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1 percent of the loan amount.) It was 3.79 percent a week ago and 3.59 percent a year ago.
ELECTIONS
US Supreme Court sets March 21 arguments in Va. redistricting case
The U.S. Supreme Court has set arguments for Monday, March 21, in Virginia’s congressional redistricting case. The high court is taking up an appeal by Republicans in Virginia’s congressional delegation. They are challenging rulings by a three-judge panel that in 2012 state legislators unconstitutionally packed too many additional African-Americans into the majority-minority 3rd District, represented by Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, thereby diluting their influence in adjacent districts. On Jan. 7, the three-judge panel imposed a new Virginia congressional map that centers Scott’s district in Hampton Roads. The new map adds Richmond and Petersburg to the 4th District, represented by Republican J. Randy Forbes, improving Democrats’ chances of winning the district in November.
Supreme Court rejects GOP bid to block new Va. congressional map
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down a bid by Republicans in Virginia’s congressional delegation to block implementation of the state’s new congressional map. The one-sentence order means Virginia will hold congressional elections in November with the new map — which transforms the districts of Reps. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, D-3rd and J. Randy Forbes, R-4th — unless congressional Republicans win their appeal to the high court.