Richmond Community Schools approved its teacher master contract and reviewed progress on Phase II of its strategic planning process during its Nov. 24 meeting.
Contract
The board voted 5-0 to approve the 2025-2026 teacher contract; Austin Brann and John Weber were absent.
Board President Kym Pickering called the process a team effort and a great collaboration while acknowledging tight finances. Board member Nicole Stults thanked Kristen Brunton, Brann and Pickering for representing the board in negotiations, noting the extra hours those discussions required.
No one spoke at the board’s Nov. 19 public hearing regarding the contract. WWN has reached out to Richmond Education Association representatives for comment on the contract terms but did not receive a response as of press time.
Strategic plan
RCS received an update from Ruth Stone, CDO Consulting Group president, about the master planning progress.
Phase II has been underway since June 2025, including gathering input from community stakeholders, reviewing earlier progress, surveying the school board and top administrators to identify themes, and conducting one-on-one meetings with them.
Also in Phase II, CDO also has conducted more than 100 hours of RCS strategic planning meetings and a retreat for the board, central office, cabinet and principals, reviewed the budget and future trends, revised vision and mission statements and formalized RCS values, and drafted the plan.
Noting accomplishments to date, Stone said the board has committed to leading RCS through hard decisions after reviewing its roles, responsibilities and expectations, and it’s been actively involved in the budget process. RCS cabinet and staff have fully participated in developing the strategic plan and committing to its goals. Uses for the 2024 bond funds have been approved and implementation has begun.
During the meeting, Stone shared drafts of RCS’ revised vision and mission and provided suggestions for lists of values and strategic imperatives.
- The suggested vision is “Engaged minds, challenged learners, achieving success – together.” That would replace “Richmond Community Schools: A community nurturing mind, body and spirit to prepare students for lives of choice, purpose and service.”
- The new mission reads, “Richmond Community Schools equips every student with knowledge, skills and opportunities to fuel lifelong learning, achievement and purpose.” It would replace “Richmond Community Schools guides students on pathways of learning to a future of limitless possibilities.”
RCS board members take turns reading those two items aloud as they start each meeting.
- A drafted values list includes kids first, safety, academic excellence, integrity and community.
- Suggested strategic imperatives include student achievement, financial longevity, building for the future, leadership and governance and community engagement.
Stone intends to bring the completed plan to the board’s Jan. 14 meeting for a vote.
Before that date, CDO plans to meet again with Phase I community stakeholders, complete a schedule and budget availability analysis relative to goals, have administrators review and endorse the plan, and complete revisions.
A key part is determining the resources needed for achieving goals.
“My personal view is that there’s no sense in putting a goal in there if you’re not going to either fund it, staff it or dedicate time to it,” Stone said.
Stults praised Stone’s efforts in gathering thoughts from many types of stakeholders and for planning follow-up check-ins for the board to stay on track and accountable once the plan is approved.
Next meetings
The board’s regular meeting will be 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10; followed by a policy discussion at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16. Both are in the administration building, 300 Hub Etchison Parkway. The public is invited.
A version of this article appeared in the December 3 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.