“Diversity is our strength.”  To deny the school’s cultural diversity is to deny its very essence. However, something integral unifies and identifies with many RHHS students: 80% of RHHS’s students are classified as low-income. It’s this 80% that depends on school devices, school sports equipment, transportation, and even an up-to-date building. Although these are aspects of the school that impact students and staff every day, there are particular details of the school’s funding that the community would benefit from knowing. 

What is the school focused on now?

The school has prioritized a large portion of its budget for ensuring that students have the highest quality learning environment possible. There has been a big push for new laptops or iPads in the school. In fact, the school has promised to keep a standard of 50 laptop carts available to the school. 

“I try as much as I can to invest directly into students,” principal Alamarie said. “To change the experience they have at Richmond Hill. Because 80% of them are low income.” 

The school applies for different grants that provide additional funding for the school, these grants usually go to academies. The biggest came most recently with the $5 million culinary project last year, with contributions from Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Council Member Lynn Schulman, and Speaker of the New York City Council Adrienne Adams. Alongside this project, the school also aims to renovate the first floor gym and courtyard. 

Although the first floor gym renovation is still up in the air, there has been indications of the courtyard receiving attention soon. 

“We’re gonna get that [courtyard] grant; I heard early indication that we’re in good shape to get it,” Mr. Alamarie said. The school also plans on applying for a grant for the STEM academies through the  STEM in The South program; however, this is not as concrete as the other grants.

RHHS is doubling down on renovations and new changes to the building. Mr. Alamarie goes as far as to state that the school has $12 million dollars for renovating the building. “Anything that we got last year we’re not gonna see that start until a year from now or two years. I just want everybody else to know that there is a work in progress.”

Curious about the sports teams and their budget? 

 Some of Richmond Hill’s school athletes have expressed concerns that some sports teams get more focus from the school through funding. One problem is transportation. Some teams receive buses for their away games while others depend on public transportation for their away games, suggesting unequal treatment. 

Mr. Alamarie clarified that this is independent from school funding and has more to do with the timing of their games. However, there is a priority of safety for those teams in the end. 

“If a game ends at 7:00 or 7:30 [pm], usually in the fall months, it gets darker early. So we want to support those students on getting back on time, because we place a lot of emphasis on safety … if it’s an early game, we don’t usually provide transportation for that.” 

When it comes to funding, each sports team is given its own budget and they’re free to spend it on their necessities – how each team spends their budget is completely up to them. “They might’ve needed cricket bats, or cleats. Things you don’t see, like basketballs. Every team spends the budget differently,” Mr. Alamarie said. 

He mentioned that if there is a sports team that believes they did not receive adequate funding, both he and the school would definitely like to know. 

Staff funding: how it impacts both students and Staff

Some teachers have reported a lack or a need for more laptop carts in their classrooms. However, Mr. Alamarie stated that there actually isn’t a shortage of laptops. Rather, it’s miscommunication and a lack of coordination on the location of carts. Stating that “it’s more about coordination, rather than, sharing, equity, and access. That’s what we’re working on right now …we have extra carts.”

Alongside this, he reinforces that the investments in technology for the school are not only for students, but also for teachers.

 “We invested in computers across the building, laptops for students, laptops for teachers. Two years ago, we had about 8 laptop carts. We have over 35 now.” The end goal is for every classroom to have at least one laptop cart. Until then, the school insists that there are enough carts to be able to satisfy teachers and students who may need them.

A new “learning space” and new school event space

As previously mentioned, there has been a plan to renovate the courtyard and even create it into a “student learning space.”

“We’re going to be using it as an additional learning space for hydroponics, and almost like farming and stuff like that … we have hydroponics, but then how do you also grow plants in a regular environment?” The courtyard is planned to be transformed into a small area where students can grow plants similar to the existing hydroponics class.

In the beginning, the plan is to only have a couple of students in the courtyard at a time, but there are plans to have school events held in the courtyard when it’s fully ready – implying an expansion to more students. 

The importance of a stronger bond between student and administration. 

For years, there has been a lack of communication and clarity for students and even staff to know what’s happening in the building and what’s to come. It stops the community from looking forward to new projects and staying up to date with what’s going on in the school. As a result, constant guessing and rumors run rampant due to the lack of transparency. 

Rather than excitement, some students feel that it only fosters a confused and misled student body. Mr. Alamarie hopes that his statements and communication provide a chance for a stronger and clearer relationship between the school and its community. With more to come, it’s up to the school to be clear on what’s next and for students to expect an ever-changing Richmond Hill High School landscape.