Henrico School Board responds to calls for collective bargaining; police use pepper spray to break up fight at Varina High

May 11, 2024

Lots of news this week - and less than a month left of school! The year has flown by so fast.

I had the honor of going to my first-ever journalism conference put on by the Virginia Press Association last weekend and it was so amazing to meet other Virginia journalists. A big congrats to the Citizen’s publisher Tom Lappas for being appointed to the VPA’s Board of Directors!

I also had so much fun today helping out at Tuckahoe Middle School’s journalism class run by Ms. Mayhall. Check out their super cool monthly newsletter here!

HCPS to look into collective bargaining

The Henrico School Board made its first official statement on the issue of collective bargaining, responding to many Henrico Schools staff who have publicly advocated for contract negotiations since this past November.

At an afternoon work session May 9, school board chair and Varina representative Alicia Atkins acknowledged the written and in-person comments made by HCPS staff and community members at the school board’s recent public forums, saying that the school board will continue to explore and educate themselves on collective bargaining.

“Board members, in collaboration with the superintendent, remain committed to furthering our understanding on this matter, assessing its potential impact on the school division and employees, and exploring a path forward,” Atkins said. “Please know that your feedback has been duly noted and continues to be reviewed.”

Henrico Police used OC (pepper) spray to break up a fight Wednesday afternoon at Varina High School.

“On May 8, 2024, at approximately 1:20 p.m., school resource officers at Varina High School observed a crowd of students rush from the cafeteria causing a disturbance to the school setting,” a Henrico Police spokesperson told CBS 6. “Officers followed that group along with administrators attempting to restore order. A large group returned to the cafeteria and began fighting. Officers deployed OC spray to stop the active fighting.”

Henrico Fire arrived to treat those exposed to OC and other minor injuries associated with fighting.

The Henrico School Board approved a proposal at a May 9 meeting that will allocate about $14 million in federal grant funds to certain school programs for 2024-2025, with $11 million allocated to Title I programs.

Federal funds for Henrico Schools’ Title I programs, which are designed to improve the academic achievement of disadvantaged students, will support instructional coaches at Title I schools, the division’s McKinney-Vento program for homeless students, and other initiatives. Henrico’s Title I programs are projected to receive $1 million less in funding than last year, according to HCPS estimates.

Other federally-funded programs are likely to receive the same funding as last year. About $1 million in Title II program funding, which supports quality instruction, will go towards teacher professional learning and literacy and math instruction coaches.

Some neighbors in Henrico County’s Delmont Plaza community said an increased police presence was a welcome surprise Tuesday night.

“It’s comforting to see people here today supporting us. It is a step in the right direction,” one neighbor, who anonymously shared her crime concerns with CBS 6, said. “I feel anxiety coming home and I shouldn’t feel that way. Home shouldn’t be a place of war; it shouldn’t be a place of chaos.”

One person has been killed and five people injured as the result of three separate shootings in the neighborhood over the last month, police said.

Photo of the week

Lots of Henrico elementary schoolers raced at RVA’s Girls on the Run meet! (photo creds to @threechoptelementary)

Henrico Education Weekly

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Henrico School Board responds to calls for collective bargaining; police use pepper spray to break up fight at Varina High

Photo of the week

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