Henrico Schools support staff demand pay increase; Henrico School Board pushes for more safe gun storage laws
Happy almost solar eclipse! Instructional assistants and other support staff have expressed frustration that they will not receive the same raises as teachers and bus drivers next school year. The Henrico School Board applauded the passage of ‘Lucia’s Law,’ but called for more safe gun storage legislation to be passed. A Henrico girl who went missing from Highland Springs was safely located by police, but her half-brother, who is alleged to have abducted her, has not yet been located.
Teachers, but not IAs, getting extra raise
A number of instructional assistants, custodians, and other support staff called on Henrico Schools to extend equal pay raises to all school employees.
Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas announced March 12 that the proposed 2024-2025 county budget would include a 4.8% pay raise for all eligible county employees, as well as an additional one-step pay increase for licensed instructional staff and bus drivers. This additional pay raise would amount to a 7.2% salary increase for teachers and push bus driver pay up to $25 an hour.
The one-step pay raise would not apply to other school positions, however, such as instructional assistants, custodians, administrators, front office staff, nurses, and teachers without licenses.
School board wants more gun safety
Henrico School Board members thanked Gov. Glenn Youngkin for signing a bill – named in honor of slain Henrico teenager Lucia Bremer – that holds parents accountable for safely storing their firearms.
“Lucia’s Law,” introduced by Henrico lawmakers Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D-16th District) and Del. Rodney Willett (58th-District), imposes a felony charge on parents or guardians who do not safely store their guns away from minors who have demonstrated violent or threatening behavior. The parents of 13-year-old Lucia Bremer, who was shot and killed in 2021 by a 14-year-old while walking home from school, spoke at the General Assembly in support of the bill.
School board members expressed disappointment that another bill, which would have mandated locking devices for firearms stored in households with children, was vetoed by Youngkin on March 27. Youngkin also vetoed several other bills related to gun control.
Missing girl safely located by police
A 15-year-old girl from Highland Springs has been found safe after an Amber Alert was issued for her abduction on Thursday morning.
Ronique Poteat was found in a vehicle traveling on I-95 south near the Chamberlayne Avenue exit at about 10:20 p.m. Thursday, during a traffic stop, according to Henrico Police. The driver of the vehicle, Earleecha Williams, 28, of Highland Springs, is facing charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, accessory after the fact in a felony, obstruction of justice, and abduction of a minor. Police said that Williams knew the teen.
The victim’s half-brother, 23-year-old Tyrell Ashley Davenport, is alleged to have abducted her Wednesday from her Highland Springs home. Davenport remains at large after a widespread search for him across the Metro Richmond area.
Fifth-graders 'adopt' lighthouses
Fifth-grade students at one Henrico elementary school recently learned more about lighthouses and their keepers, thanks to an initiative created by a Navy veteran.
Charlie Anderson, a resident of the Avery Point senior living community in Short Pump, suggested the project to his granddaughter Leah’s fifth-grade teacher, Farrell Bishop. His proposal was to have each student in the class borrow a lighthouse figurine from his extensive collection, conduct research and deliver a report.
The enthusiasm for the project quickly spread to more than 80 students in multiple fifth-grade classes. Anderson provided all the students with two-inch pin-on buttons and certificates, officially designating each student as an “Official Keeper of the Light.”
VA could remove flavored vapes
Flavored vape products lacking Food and Drug Administration approval could be pulled from Virginia shelves, as a pair of identical bills head to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk for his signature.
Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico, and Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, say their bills would help to eliminate the 50% of illegal, unregulated vapor and e-cigarette products currently being sold in the commonwealth. Both lawmakers said the bill’s intent is to also curb underage vaping, as no flavored e-cigarettes or vapes are currently FDA-approved which they say is to deter youth consumers.
“It’s a very serious situation and what this bill is intended to do is protect children,” Willett told the Virginia Mercury in an interview last week. “It’s to protect adults who are lawful consumers and then also the wholesalers and retailers themselves.”
Photos of the week
Our foster cat Draco finally had to go back home :( I will miss watching Avatar and Law & Order with him. For such a little guy, he had such a big personality
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