The following position paper was recently adopted by Richmond VCORE.
A casino is not the solution to address funding gaps in childcare and education. The negative impacts of a casino outweigh any purported economic benefits. Richmond leaders need to find better ways to support students in our city.
In 2021, Richmonders rejected a casino referendum. The pro-casino developers spent millions on their campaign and courted the support of many local politicians including the mayor. For the 2023 casino referendum, Mayor Levar Stoney and the casino lobby have repackaged the casino in hopes of garnering more votes. Mayor Stoney proposed using revenues from gambling to create a trust fund for childcare and education.
This attempt to sell Richmonders on a casino is disingenuous. Allen Charles-Chipman, a community advocate and former candidate for the City Council in the Sixth District, pointed out that Richmond received over $275 million from the American Rescue Plan Act and only used a couple million to address childcare.
Charles-Chipman said, “I think it’s a terrible idea to rob the parents to pay the kids. I don’t feel comfortable that developers and private interests get to come to the bargaining table to get what they want, but Southside has to go to the blackjack table to get what they want. To do what’s virtuous and support our kids, we don’t have to rely on vices.”
Casinos are predatory. They are associated with increases in crime and gambling addiction. They are connected to other predatory businesses such as payday lenders and increased rates of bankruptcy. The money that is put into the slots comes out of our pockets and stays with the casino. The role casinos play in providing cover for human trafficking is widely acknowledged; the American Bar Association has even held a symposium to study the issue.
Mayor Stoney and casino proponents are making a case that the casino will bring union jobs. It seems that the mayor only cares about unions and workers when it aligns with their interests. The mayor and the city have been stalling negotiations with SEIU for city employees just as it stalled with approving collective bargaining.
Supporters of the casino also claim it will provide average salaries of $55,000. Churchill Downs is one of the partners for the proposed casino. It currently operates Rosie’s Gaming Emporium in Richmond. Rosie’s advertises positions that pay $11-$15 an hour, which would be less than $55,000 a year. The wages casino hospitality workers, cashiers, attendees, and security workers make will likely be under $55,000. Pastor Ralph Hodges of Second Baptist Church shared a document from Urban One on social media indicating average casino salaries closer to $37,000. Regardless, the $55,000 or $37,000 average is skewed by executive-level positions. If the casino had ten employees with eight making $37,000 and two making $130,000, the average salary of the employees would be $55,600 while the median salary would be $37,000. The median salary better reflects what most workers make. Using median income would be a more accurate gauge for job earnings as it would show the exact middle figure among the range of salaries offered by the casino.
Richmond is unlikely to become a travel destination like Las Vegas is or Atlantic City was. Realistically, it will find itself in the company of small city casinos that underperform in oversaturated markets and against online gambling. The casino in Danville, Virginia already has lawmakers in North Carolina considering joining Mayor Levar Stoney in a race to the bottom. Casino revenue projections for Richmond are a bad gamble.
The trust fund proposal creates a headline without a real solution. Why establish a trust fund when more revenue should be dedicated to RPS? During the budget cycle for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, Mayor Levar Stoney introduced a budget that was over seven million short of what Richmond Public Schools requested. In Richmond, education made up 23.3% of the total budget in 2023-2024. Henrico County dedicated over 50% of its budget to education. The city is underfunding the school district and this proposal will not directly benefit Richmond Public Schools.
Instead of creating a separate fund, the city should adequately fund RPS. Additional funds could be used to address the decrepit, unhealthy, and unjust working and learning conditions that are common in many of our schools. Students cannot learn in classrooms with nonfunctioning AC. They cannot learn when they and their teachers are sick from mold. 70% of RPS schools failed their fire safety inspection less than 18 months after a school burnt down. Our city cannot even guarantee our students' physical safety and has deprioritized the well-being of its majority Black and Brown student population.
The proposal also dedicates public funds for private early childcare. This money could be invested in public childcare. With more funding, RPS could expand preschool services. The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation could expand after school and summer programming, as well.
Mayor Stoney has threatened to raise taxes if the casino does not pass. The reality is that there are solutions beyond raising taxes on residents or building a casino. Richmond should negotiate with VCU to contribute to RPS and city programs as VCU does not pay any property tax. This could include a pay in lieu of taxes program or PILOT. Richmond should work with the state to contribute more financial resources to our city as the state also does not pay property taxes on property it owns in downtown Richmond. Mayor Stoney should focus on updating outdated software and ensuring the city’s Finance Department is fully staffed, which could save the city millions.
Mayor Stoney should make better decisions with the revenue we have. Richmond has had budget surpluses. In 2023, Richmond gave a one-time real estate rebate. Mayor Stoney developed this plan knowing that it would give hundreds of thousands back to companies like Phillip Morris and companies with significant real estate holdings. A person who owned a house worth $350,000 received $175. We would rather see millions invested in updating our dilapidated schools than a $100 check.
Mayor Stoney has presented the casino as a financial fix, but it will only bring us more woes. At the end of the day, money put into gambling could be invested in other economic activities that could truly help build our community. As Richmond residents, union members, and RPS educators, we want to see an increase in our city’s commitment to childcare, education, and economic development. A casino’s predatory nature outweighs any benefits that are promised by politicians and casino developers. For this reason, the Richmond Chapter of the Virginia Caucus of Rank and File Educators opposes the casino project.
We would be remiss if we did not address the divided nature of the past and present debate of the casino and how that debate falls along lines of race and class. Residents of the 8th district, where the casino would be built, previously voted in favor of it. It is fair that residents in the 8th district, which has historically suffered the effects of racial capitalism in the form of environmental racism and redlining, would look to any economic development project as some form of progress. However, 8th district residents and Richmonders in general deserve better. In the absence of true community-led initiatives to improve the conditions in our city, politicians and the wealthy interests they serve present the casino as the only option for progress. It doesn’t have to be this way. Our community, in coordination with labor unions, congregations, community groups, and parent groups must come together to demand the things we all deserve.
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