Henrico School Board to discuss Living Building delay, launch naming process Sept. 24
The Henrico School Board will hold a work session and monthly meeting Sept. 24, with an update on the county's new environmental education facility, the start of a public process to name the building and several grant awards among the items scheduled for consideration.
The work session will begin at 4 p.m. at the New Bridge Learning Center Auditorium, 5915 Nine Mile Road. The monthly meeting will follow at 6:30 p.m. at the same location.
Perhaps the most significant update will come during the work session, when school officials are scheduled to brief board members about the division's new environmental education Living Building, now under construction.
The project has fallen behind its previous construction schedule. Substantial completion originally was targeted for winter 2026-27, but construction delays have pushed that milestone to spring 2027, according to the presentation prepared for the board. HCPS now expects the facility to open in fall 2027.
The building will house the Varina Center for Environmental Studies and Sustainability and also provide environmental-learning opportunities for students from throughout Henrico.
Two new VCESS courses – Introduction to Plant Systems and a Senior Internship – will give students roles in programming at the building. The plant-systems course will support third-grade agriculture and plant-based learning, while students in the internship will help support programming for third- and sixth-graders alongside environmental educators.
The School Board also is scheduled to launch a 30-day public-comment period to select a permanent name for the facility. A steering committee includes VCESS students, HEART Youth Council representatives, educators, Varina High School alumni, ministers from the Varina community, a Varina resident and biologist and representatives of the Henricopolis Soil and Water Conservation District, among others.
The comment period is scheduled to begin Sept. 24 and end Oct. 25. Superintendent Amy Cashwell then is scheduled to present recommendations Nov. 12, when the board is expected to act on the building's name.
HEF Greenlight grants earmarked for 12 school projects
During the 6:30 p.m. monthly meeting, board members will consider accepting $76,545 in Henrico Education Foundation Greenlight grants supporting 12 projects – nine at elementary schools and three at high schools. School officials estimate the projects collectively will affect more than 9,300 students, teachers and parents.
The largest award, $14,000, would support the Dolphin Discovery Trail at Donahoe Elementary School, an outdoor-learning project designed to expand hands-on science instruction. Other awards include $11,000 to expand the division's Go ALL IN initiative; $10,412 for a literacy-based “Curiosity Classroom” project involving Colonial Trail and Nuckols Farm elementary schools; and $9,536 for a career-exploration program at Longan Elementary.
Varina High School would receive $6,065 for a yearlong Blue Devil Film Festival program through which students would develop, produce and publicly screen original short films. Dumbarton Elementary would receive $6,500 for a before-school enrichment program incorporating robotics, esports, arts and wellness activities.
Other grants also likely to be accepted
Two other grant awards are scheduled for consideration.
A $7,500 award from the Propane Education and Research Council would allow the ACE Center at Virginia Randolph to incorporate propane-vehicle inspection training into its diesel-technology curriculum. About 40 juniors and seniors are expected to participate.
The board also will consider accepting a $48,335.08 Virginia Department of Education grant for the Individual Student Alternative Education Plan program. The program serves students 16 and older who are at least one full year behind in credits and at risk of not graduating on time.
Approximately 40 students are expected to participate this year, receiving services that include GED preparation, economics and personal-finance instruction and career and technical education.
Other items, public comment opportunities
Board members also will receive the school division's financial reports through Aug. 31. The amended FY2027 general-fund budget reflects a $6.1 million supplemental appropriation from Henrico County associated with the 4% wage increase for returning HCPS employees.
The consent agenda also includes permanent and temporary easements for a new underground sanitary-sewer system serving the rebuilt Quioccasin Middle School. The permanent easement encompasses 3,028 square feet, while two temporary construction easements total 3,591 square feet.
The monthly meeting will open with a performance by the Glen Allen High School Drumline and include recognition of HCPS programs that earned 2026 National Association of Counties Achievement Awards. The board also is scheduled to recognize October as National Bullying Prevention Month and National Czech, Italian and Polish Heritage Month.
The monthly meeting includes a public-comment period. People wishing to speak in person must register in advance through HCPS or contact the School Board clerk by 4:30 p.m. Sept. 23; written comments must be submitted by noon Sept. 23.
