RICHMOND, Va. -- Construction upgrades are underway at John Marshall High School and other schools around in the City of Richmond.
Richmond Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras called the upgrades much needed.
"When we say sometimes that our schools are crumbling. We literally mean crumbling," Kamras said.
John Marshall student Zion Stone said he was excited about the idea of using his school's courtyard once again.
"I really enjoy what they're doing to create a new environment for the students here and my peers," Stone said.
In addition to the John Marshall courtyard project, work crews also mended a storm pipe at Reid Elementary and will pour the slab for the new Richmond High School for the Arts.
"Doesn't sound very exciting, but it is amazing to finally have the slab poured and then begin the building in earnest," Kamras said.
Kamras also gave more details about a recently announced $15-million federal grant that will be used to upgrade the HVAC systems in 22 RPS' Title I schools.
"The average age of these Title I schools is 86 years," he said.
A 2020 federal reportsaid HVAC replacements are needed in half of the country's schools -- while a 2024 report from the non-profit Climate Central said Richmond was like many schools around the country -- and needs more days with air conditioners to keep classrooms cool compared to decades ago.
"The climate is changing. It's hotter here in Richmond more days of the year it's certainly humid, quite a lot, and so the need for great AC systems is increasing every single day," Kamras said.
"I think that's a big importance there of just starting with simple things like air quality is huge," Bellevue Elementary parent Allison Schwartz said.
Allison and husband Andrew came out to show support for the upgrades.
"See the quality of how that impacts the students and how much passion and pride they have in their facility. And so, it's been exciting to see on the other side of that building that has been built and how powerful that is," Andrew Schwartz said.
Officials said more work still needed to be done around the school division. They're wrapped up an assessment to guide work like this for the next five years.
They added, it could cost between $1 to $2 billion to get everything done and called on all levels of government to help.
"Schools have just been historically underfunded and we need to change that. And I think some of this must fall on the shoulders of the federal government," Richmond School Board member Stephanie Rizzi said.
As for the wall work at John Marshall High School, it is supposed to be finished by October.
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