Henrico School Board passes redistricting plan, but unaddressed concerns linger

In a 4-1 vote on Thursday, the Henrico School Board approved a redistricting proposal that would shift an estimated 661 students to different schools starting next fall.

The attendance boundary changes would move 274 students from J.R. Tucker High to Hermitage High, 181 students from Hermitage High to Henrico High, 133 students from Douglas S. Freeman High to Mills E. Godwin High, 61 students from Highland Springs High to Henrico High, and just eight students from Maybeury Elementary to Ruby F. Carver Elementary in the fall of 2026. About six students would be moved from Tuckahoe Middle to Quioccasin Middle in the fall of 2027.

However, students who will be in grades 5, 10, 11, and 12 next fall – and in grade 8 during the fall of 2027 – will be given the option to stay at their current schools as long as they provide their own transportation. 

The proposal, which had been significantly altered to remove several other boundary changes since September, received support from a majority of school board members, who said that the shifts would help reduce overcrowding at Tucker and Freeman while adding more students to Henrico High.

“I do think we’re doing the right thing by our high schools,” said Fairfield District representative Ryan Young. “But I do want the public to know that the decision weighs heavily on me…you have to have compassion when you’re dealing with families and people that have purchased homes and then are moving.”

But Varina representative Alicia Atkins voted against the proposal, citing a lack of support from many in the Highland Springs’ “Springer’ community for the shift of 61 students to Henrico High.

“Sitting with students and asking them how they felt about the Henrico scenario, it was shocking because not one of them supported it,” she said. “And I then began reaching out to Highland Springs High School alumni to get their thoughts on it as well, and not one of those individuals I spoke to supported it.”

Atkins also said that the watered-down proposal enacted “fast-paced, temporary solutions” rather than a long-term plan, failing to address some of the core issues faced by Henrico Schools.

“I have to be clear that boundary changes should be a last resort. They should only be used when every other option has been fully exhausted and when the data shows a clear long-term solution, not a temporary fix,” she said. “When we disrupt our communities without a long-term solution, it does foundationally weaken that community.” 

Brookland District representative Kristi Kinsella voted in favor of the proposal, but expressed disappointment that the plan failed to address several feeder pattern issues; Tucker High will continue to take students from five different middle schools, while all other high schools take students from only two to three middle schools. 

George H. Moody Middle will also continue to receive around 62% of students from outside of its attendance zone for speciality programs, with the majority of zoned students being “displaced over time,” said Kinsella.

“The package we’re voting on today fails to address certain issues of concern in the Brookland District that should have been addressed,” she said. “Despite my continued advocacy to fix these things, there was not enough support from my colleagues or the division leadership to do so...my constituents and others in Henrico Schools have been asking for these issues to be fixed for years and are disappointed in this process for ignoring their concerns.”

This year’s redistricting process was a “vast improvement” over previous redistricting efforts, said board vice-chair Madison Irving (Three Chopt District). Despite mixed reactions from the community over the months-long process, the school board was transparent and open about the proposed changes and their decisions, he said. 

“It’s always very important to remember that just because you may not like a specific result, that doesn’t mean that the process itself is bad,” he said. “I think that we have been very transparent…and we will certainly make tweaks to this process moving forward with recommendations from the community.”

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.