HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Too cool for school? Or are Henrico County’s school’s too full?
On Thursday, Dec. 14, the Henrico County School Board is set to vote on the district’s fiscal year 2024-2025 Capital Improvement Plan. The plan, in part, addresses overcrowding in classrooms, most of which are in schools in the western part of the county.
The school system monitors enrollment based on factors like birth rates and housing clusters. With more and more families moving-in, the Three Chopt district’s Michelle Ogburn emphasized that time is ticking.
“You drive by those blue signs that say ‘We’re rezoning and there’s another development going in,’” Ogburn said. “My first response is, ‘where are those kids going to school?’”
Currently, Three Chopt, Colonial Trail and Pemberton Elementary Schools, as well as Glen Allen, Deep Run and Douglas S. Freeman High Schools are all over capacity.
“I know it’s a concern for all of us,” Ogburn said.
But the school district said that with work-study programs and other non-traditional options, these statistics often fail to reflect the density of students actually in each classroom.
Part of the proposed solution to ongoing overcrowding issues, which board representatives have actively recognized, includes the construction of new elementary schools — specifically in the Fairfield and Three Chopt districts.
However, those those aren’t the only projects in the works. Last year’s bond referendum included more than $350 million allocated towards construction and redevelopment across eight schools. Even then, the waitlist for help only continues to grow.
With finite amounts of money available, some schools, like Jackson-Davis Elementary School, have had to wait for consideration.
“Here we are in 2023, talking about a school that we talked about in 2016,” Ogburn said.
At least one new elementary school in western Henrico is not slated to be complete until 2029. In the meantime, the School Board is continuing to evaluate long and short-term resolutions.
The Henrico County School Board will meet Thursday to vote on the Capital Improvement Plan. Over time, leaders will continue to finalize details on construction plans moving forward.
