District lays out five options for Clark Springs site including Open High, RSA or mixed-use proposal

With Clark Springs Elementary ready to accept students in August, Richmond Public Schools presented five options for how to use the vacated school property and asked the board for preliminary guidance before pursuing community feedback.

Superintendent and facilities staff said Clark Springs will have a formal ribbon cutting on Aug. 6 and that the administration is still awaiting the occupancy certificate and scheduled furniture delivery. Because materials and furniture must be relocated from the old Clark Springs site after the new building opens, staff said they need time for a full building inventory and facilities assessment before a final recommendation.

The administration outlined five initial concepts for the current Clark Springs building:

- Option A: Keep the building as a flex space and offices for district use, plus professional development and swing-space activities when schools need temporary space. - Option B: Move Open High School into Clark Springs. Staff noted Open High lacks a cafeteria, gym and auditorium in its current building and that Clark Springs would allow expanded enrollment and programming. - Option C: Relocate Richmond Success Academy (RSA) and consolidate all nontraditional programs into one building to improve staffing, coordination and program continuity. - Option D: Create a student-and-family engagement center housing the Center for Families in Transition, culture-and-climate staff, nutrition team (including a full pantry), health services screening and community partner space to deliver wraparound services in one hub. - Option E: Explore a public–private partnership (P3) concept that could combine senior affordable housing, small-business space, recreation and a new school; staff cautioned the rendering is conceptual and financing is far from firm.

Staff emphasized key factors that will affect the choice: community preference, budget impacts, the building’s physical condition (HVAC, plumbing and potential changes required to serve high-school programs), and timing required for transition. They noted some options — for example, converting the building to a high school program — would require plumbing and HVAC work because Clark Springs was designed as an elementary facility.

Board members, several of whom represent nearby neighborhoods, offered a range of initial reactions. Some members favored moving Open High School to Clark Springs because its current space is small and the move would allow program expansion. Others noted the value of a district hub to centralize family services, while still others said a P3 could unlock financing but warned that such deals require careful structuring and substantial upfront work.

Superintendent staff asked the board to highlight options it would reject outright; board members asked to preserve the building’s active use and avoid long-term vacancy. The administration said it will conduct targeted stakeholder engagement (including principals, neighboring residents and community partners), develop cost estimates and return with a recommended course this calendar year.