RICHMOND, Va. -- To mark the one year anniversary of the fire at Fox Elementary, parents and kids gathered outside the school Friday night.
The PTA hosted a gathering to talk about the status of the school when it comes to reconstruction, the shortfalls of funding, and what community members can do to continue to advocate that the school is rebuilt.
After the meeting, third-graders Anias Pozzi and Anna Sotdours shared how they were feeling about everything that happened to their school. They described their former school as a peaceful place that felt like home. However, they were thankful that the playground at least has been rebuilt and reopened.
“I really feel excited about them opening the playground again," Anias Pozzi said. "But I feel really sad seeing the building."
IN-DEPTH COVERAGE: Fox Elementary School Fire
Richmond Public Schools (RPS) reopened the shuttered Clark Springs Elementary as a temporary home for Fox students.
The school board is works to come up with a roughly $15 million shortfall, which is the total needed between what the insurance company wants to give district for the building and the amount of money administrators estimate it will take to rebuild the school.
RELATED: In-depth look at timeline of events since fire at Fox Elementary
School board members Mariah White and City Council member Katherine Jordan, who attended the gathering, expressed their commitment to help get Fox rebuilt. They also expressed optimism that money would be secured.
They stated RPS is still negotiating with the insurance company and also added they could have the option to use new funding created from the meal tax.
However, they also encouraged people to write to state lawmakers and the governor asking the state to give RPS more money to rebuild.
“We still need funds. We still want to build Fox. We’re Fox strong,” White said.
WTVR CBS 6 talked to someone from the insurance company on Friday. That official said the company has not received any documentation from RPS contesting their offer. However, they did say they have upped the amount they would give RPS by over $1 million.
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