Henrico School Board to weigh options for addressing capacity issues

Henrico Schools Superintendent Amy Cashwell will present the Henrico School Board with several proposed solutions Sept. 11 to tackle capacity issues throughout the division.

The proposals could include shifting the attendance boundaries of certain schools or changing enrollment numbers at some specialty centers and school-specific programs, or a combination of both measures. 

At their Aug. 28 meeting, the school board asked Cashwell and her staff to craft different capacity relief options based on each board member’s priorities for their districts and the division as a whole.

For board chair Marcie Shea (Tuckahoe District), that would be reducing the number of students at Douglas S. Freeman High School (which has been over 100% capacity for several years) and addressing “fractured feeder patterns” at Quioccasin Middle School (which takes students from seven different elementary schools and feeds into three different high schools), while maintaining “community continuity.”

Vice-chair Madison Irving (Three Chopt District) said that reducing enrollment at J.R. Tucker High School, which has been over 100% capacity for about a year, is his top priority and that he wants HCPS to consider making programmatic changes first, with moving students already zoned for the school being a “last option.”

Brookland District representative Kristi Kinsella also asked HCPS to prioritize capacity relief at Tucker High, recommending that a boundary change made in 2017 be reversed to move some students zoned for Tucker High into Glen Allen High School’s boundaries. She also asked HCPS staff to look at all feeder pattern inconsistencies in the division and how many students attend their home schools versus how many attend specialty programs out of their zone.

Highland Springs High School also has had some overcrowding issues, with the school operating at over 90% capacity, said Varina District representative Alicia Atkins. Areas near the high school will see several new housing developments built that will lead to new students, which Atkins says HCPS should consider when providing capacity relief options for Highland Springs High that preserve “neighborhood cohesion.”

At 65% capacity, Henrico High School has the lowest capacity of any school in the county, said Fairfield district representative Ryan Young, which he says presents an opportunity for relieving other overcrowded high schools. Young asked that HCPS work to grow the school’s enrollment while “ensuring that students are not losing but only maintaining or gaining” in terms of school resources.

No final decisions will be made at the Sept. 11 meeting on the proposals, said Shea, but the board will decide on a timeline for community input and for when potential solutions would be voted on and implemented.

HCPS policy allows the school board to consider factors “including but not limited to” capacity, projected enrollment, transportation, school construction plans, program placements, and operating and instructional effectiveness. But Irving suggested that HCPS focus only on building capacity when considering future proposals.

“I feel that any moves that may be required should focus solely on building capacity, either too many students or too few students,” he said. “And not other considerations that would be much more difficult to predict the long-term impacts of.”

This past spring, the school board voted 3-2 to reject a redistricting proposal that would have changed the boundaries of four high schools: Freeman High, Mills E. Godwin High, Highland Springs High, and Henrico High. Instead, the board committed to a “comprehensive analysis” of all school boundaries this fall.

The board also approved a new policy that requires board members to consider boundary changes at least once every four years and a new regulation that allows the superintendent to design a process for public input. The previous regulation required a specific process for school redistricting that included the creation of a committee of staff and community members and the hiring of an outside consultant. 

The board also heard an update from HCPS staff on the division’s major capital projects – many of which will provide additional capacity for students in the next few years:

Renovation of Jacob L. Adams Elementary School:

• Expected completion in the fall of 2026;

• Budget of $25 million;

• No capacity changes to school.

Rebuild of the Campus at Virginia Randolph:

• Entire campus will be completed and Building B will be opened in January of 2026;

• Budget of $78.6 million;

• More capacity for alternative and special education programs and Advanced Career Education (ACE) Center.

Rebuild of Jackson Davis Elementary School:

• Construction is underway, with the expected opening in the fall of 2026;

• Budget of $48 million;

• Capacity would increase from 500 to 750 students.

Rebuild of R.C. Longan Elementary School:

• Construction is underway, with the expected opening in the fall of 2026;

• Budget of $47 million;

• Capacity would increase from 500 to 750 students.

Construction of new Living Building at Wilton Farm:

• Project is in the design phase, with construction starting this fall and the expected opening in the fall of 2026;

• Budget of $16 million;

• New space for 100 students from the Varina High Center for Environmental Studies and Sustainability and for other HCPS students visiting the property.

Rebuild of Quioccasin Middle School:

• Project is in the bidding phase, with construction starting this fall and the expected opening in the fall of 2027;

• Budget of $89 million;

• Capacity would increase from 1,100 to 1,350 students.

Renovation of Charles M. Johnson Elementary School:

• Project is in the design phase, with bidding to start later this fall and the expected completion in the fall of 2027;

• Budget of $26.5 million.

Construction of new Fairfield Area Elementary School:

• Design team selection is underway, with the school’s expected opening in the fall of 2029;

• New school would be a 90,000 sq ft building located on a 23-acre parcel in the River Mill community;

• Budget of $46 million;

• Capacity of around 700-800 students.

Rebuild of Highland Springs Elementary School:

• Design will be worked on in 2026 or 2027, with construction starting a year later;

• Budget of $45 million.

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.