Henrico Schools’ new chief of operations is not asking for more HVAC funding from the county. Here’s why

Despite months of HVAC outages at dozens of schools, Henrico Schools’ Chief of Operations Greg Dunaway is not asking Henrico County for additional mechanical funding this year.

Dunaway, who joined the division this past summer, presented his Capital Improvement Plan proposal to the Henrico School Board Oct. 22, requesting $20 million in mechanical funding for fiscal year 2027–28 – the same amount allocated for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2027.

Dunaway also is asking for the same level of funding as the current fiscal year for technology, school bus, and playground replacements, as well as for maintenance projects funded by the county's meals tax. However, since all roofing replacement funding was deferred to HVAC projects in the current fiscal year budget, Dunaway is asking for the county to restore the annual $6 million roofing allocation.

Last month, HCPS had 625 open work orders related to HVAC issues throughout the division, with some dating back to two years ago. At the same time, about 18 schools, sometimes more, were experiencing HVAC issues on any given day, according to HCPS officials,

So, why not ask county leaders for a large increase in HVAC funding this year? 

Dunaway said that not all of the division’s HVAC problems are funding-related, with some issues stemming from supply chain delays, the timelines of outside vendors, and the capacity of HCPS’ own team – issues that cannot simply be solved with just more money.

Henrico Schools' Capital Improvement Plan proposals

“At this point in time, $20 million is an appropriate amount for us to manage and feel like we can get completed in a fiscal year, given all of the constraints,” Dunaway said. “We can only manage so many projects. And the local firms that we work with, they have a certain bandwidth of the number of projects that they can manage.”

Division still waiting on parts for some schools with HVAC issues

HCPS currently works with eight HVAC vendors under a joint contract with the county – more than the 3 to 4 vendors used by Chesterfield, a similarly-sized school division, said Henrico School Board Chair Madison Irving (Three Chopt District). But simply hiring a dozen more vendors would not be feasible for HCPS’ HVAC team, Dunaway said. 

“Vendors require oversight and management from our internal team, so managing eight contractors is a task in itself,” he said. “It’s not a matter of we just send them into the schools and they do the work. There’s a level of oversight and quality assurance.”

Dunaway also said that the county is not resistant to awarding HCPS more HVAC funding and that county leaders are “always willing to help.”

The $20 million will go toward dozens of projects ranging from $25,000 to projects that cost a few million dollars, according to Dunaway – including both backlogged work orders and preventative maintenance. Projects are prioritized based upon a third-party assessment by Moseley Architects conducted last year focusing on equipment age and condition, as well as the “institutional knowledge” of HCPS staff, said Dunaway.

“The $20 million is a substantial step forward,” he said. “We know the need is much greater, but we want to be very careful and deliberate about how we roll out the financial resources to meet this need over a period of time versus infusing all the money at once.”

Dunaway’s funding proposal is “certainly timely,” said school board member Marcie Shea (Tuckahoe District). While HCPS has made “significant progress” in resolving daily HVAC issues since last month, said Dunaway, the division is still waiting on parts for one-third of the roughly 18 schools that have experienced recent challenges. 

Earlier this month, HCPS’ facilities director Susan Moore suddenly retired from her role, just before she was set to transition to the newly created director of capital outlay and planning position. 

When asked if Moore’s retirement was connected to the public release of concerned emails from school principals and county officials regarding HVAC issues that went unanswered by Moore, HCPS spokesperson Eileen Cox said the reasons for Moore’s retirement were “her own” and part of a personnel record that will not be released.

But HCPS was planning to fill the new director of capital outlay role by Nov. 9, and the two other leadership positions – operations liaison and director of facilities – by Oct. 23 and Oct. 30 respectively. The division also is recruiting to fill six or seven vacant HVAC positions, representing approximately half of its 13 authorized HVAC positions.

'Every time I think it's okay, it's not okay'

Despite Dunaway’s reassurances, some school board members still expressed reservations about not asking for increased HVAC funding. 

“I’m glad that the $20 million was put back in place, but I’m also cautious,” said school board member Ryan Young (Fairfield District). “Because since I’ve been on this board – for 2025 I thought $7 million was good. For 2026, I thought $10 million was good. . . Every time I think it’s okay, it's not okay.”

The school board will vote on Dunaway's proposal next month, after which it will be sent to Henrico's Board of Supervisors for a final vote in the spring.

HCPS has begun to prepare for the winter months, Dunaway said, completing boiler startup successfully at every school. Work to resolve the backlog of open HVAC work orders is "happening every day,” he said, and staffers are considering new technology that allows for more real-time updates when it comes to work orders.

“The work is far from complete, but we are making progress. And this funding allows us to continue building on that,” Dunaway said. “We’re beginning to see improvements through enhanced preventative maintenance, reduced backlogs, improved planning, and a stronger organizational structure.”

HCPS also will receive the results of a third-party assessment of the department’s organizational structure and mechanisms for recording work orders and preventative maintenance by CapTech at the end of this month.

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.