In rare non-unanimous vote, Henrico School Board elects Irving as chair

The Henrico School Board on Thursday elected Three Chopt District member Madison Irving as its new chair in a 4-1 vote – an abnormal occurrence for a board that often votes unanimously.

After board member Alicia Atkins (Varina District) nominated Irving as chair, all members voted in favor except for Marcie Shea (Tuckahoe District), who voted against Irving’s nomination. Shea served as the board chair last year, with Irving as her vice-chair.

Shea did not indicate during the meeting why she voted against Irving's nomination.

The board also unanimously voted for Ryan Young (Fairfield District), nominated by Shea, to serve as the vice-chair.

The 4-1 vote sticks out from the school board’s past chair elections; in all other recorded board chair elections since at least 2008, board members have voted unanimously for the member nominated, except during one year when a member abstained from voting.

Despite the vote in opposition, Irving offered Shea a gift after the election and thanked her for serving as board chair during the past year.

“Thank you so much for your service,” Irving said to Shea. “We appreciate all that you do for the county and our students and our families, and we’re super grateful to have you.”

Shea thanked Irving for serving as her vice-chair last year.

“Thank you for your partnership this year, working together to serve Henrico County,” she said. 

Irving also gave shout-outs to the rest of the school board.

“And thank you all for your support,” he said to board members. “I am deeply grateful to work with each and every one of you, and I look forward to all of the great things we’ll continue to do for the people of Henrico County. They deserve the best, and I’m glad to have the colleagues that I do. I’m very fortunate.”

Both Irving and Young were elected to the school board back in 2023, making them the newest of the five members. While Irving served as board vice-chair last year, this will be Young’s first leadership position on the school board.

Board members also voted to maintain the board's meeting schedule on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month, with several exceptions.

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.