Richmond Art Museum board, teachers and residents urge RCS to preserve student access amid secure-entry plans

Speakers for the Richmond Art Museum and Richmond High School urged the Richmond Community Schools board on Aug. 13 to preserve student access to the Richmond Art Museum (RAM) as the district considers a secure-entry redesign for Richmond High School.

The museum’s executive director, Sean Dingworth, said the board’s recent facility proposals “will directly impact the ability for Grama to execute our mission and strategic plan of serving students,” citing a proposal that would close the student entry between the high school and the museum. He told the board RAM and Richmond Community Schools (RCS) have “a 127-year relationship” and asked the district to include the museum in planning rather than treat RAM as a tenant.

The museum’s education director, Lance Crowe, told the board the doorway in question “is the main point of access for students and teachers into the art museum and is most used across all visits,” and said placing a secure entry at that location “would decrease the ease of access students now enjoy to the museum and will dissuade teachers from making plans to utilize RAM as a resource.”

RAM board members and community supporters described programs and investments the museum provides at no cost to students. Robin Henry, RAM treasurer and Richmond High alumna, said RAM raised $1.8 million in 2017 to repair infrastructure and has supported galleries and student programming. Chris Everard, a high school art teacher, said roughly 75 Richmond High seniors are enrolled in the arts pathway and that RAM’s resources — field trips, internship opportunities and classroom support — help meet new graduation requirements.

Richmond High School art teacher Robyn Nicholson asked the district to guarantee active teacher input if art classrooms are relocated. Nicholson said high school art courses use specialized equipment — kilns, ventilation for soldering, deep sinks and dedicated electrical — and that “if we would be relocated…we need a seat at the table” to ensure replacement spaces retain those features.

School board members responded at length during the meeting. Several said they were surprised to learn the secure-entry proposal would affect the museum and pledged to continue the partnership. A board member emphasized the district’s obligation to student safety while also saying the administration would work with RAM on alternative design options. The board president noted that facility plans discussed to date were conceptual renderings and that detailed design and community conversations remain part of the ongoing strategic planning process.

Several board members and administrators said the district has not approved moving the art rooms or the library as part of the bond-funded work and that final design decisions will come later. Superintendent remarks indicated administration will present options in future meetings and include partners in those discussions.

The public commentary period that produced the museum speakers followed board rules that discourage personal or abusive remarks and direct speakers to policy 9130 for personnel complaints.

The Richmond Art Museum and multiple educators requested that RCS: (1) explicitly include RAM in design conversations before a secure entrance is finalized; (2) preserve the high-usage doorway between RHS and the museum or provide an equally accessible alternative; and (3) ensure art teachers have substantive input about any relocation of classrooms and equipment.

Board members directed administration to continue facility planning with community input and signaled that design choices that could affect RAM would be revisited in upcoming strategic-planning and work-session meetings. The district provided no schedule or binding commitment tonight; administration said it would present design options in future sessions where RAM representatives and classroom teachers could participate.

Community speakers who addressed the board during public comment included RAM board members, RAM staff, high school art teachers and a series of residents who said RAM’s free programs and on-campus access are uniquely valuable to Richmond students. The speakers described specific student programs, donor-funded repairs, and state recognition for RAM’s education work.

The museum and district remain partners in program delivery, and both sides said they will continue discussions before facility designs are finalized.