Two school redistricting plans dropped, one revised in Henrico boundary update

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The Henrico School Board announced some changes to the school boundary adjustment process for the 2025-26 school year, which would have addressed overcrowding, following community feedback from parents, students and staff.

During a county school board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 25, members voted to drop two of the seven original proposed redistricting plans and revise a third. These decisions came after receiving input through a town hall meeting, emails and an online survey. All seven scenarios aimed to address overcrowding, transportation challenges and future growth of the community.

On Wednesday, Sept. 24, one mother of a freshman at Hermitage High School shared her concerns about the negative impact on her son and other students, specifically after his third and fourth grades were spent during COVID-19.

Per the school board, one scenario removed would would have moved 72 students from Ridge Elementary to Jackson Davis Elementary, while another scenario would have moved 76 students from the Broad Meadows neighborhood from Homan Middle School to Hungary Creek Middle School.

PREVIOUS: Henrico school board puts boundary adjustment conversations on hold

The Henrico School Board was also considering a scenario that would have moved some students from Pocahontas Middle School to Quioccasin Middle School but this idea has been modified. Students currently zoned for Pocahontas Middle School will no longer be affected by the scenario, per the school board decision on Thursday.

Despite these changes, five of the original seven redistricting scenarios are still under review. These scenarios have reportedly been added to the Henrico County Public Schools' redistricting webpage, and other enhancements are expected later this week.

The following is a list of the five remaining scenarios:

• Elementary school scenarios:
  • Ruby F. Carver Elementary School (affects Maybeury Elementary School)
• Middle school scenarios:
  • Quioccasin Middle School (affects Tuckahoe Middle School) -- but no longer affects Pocahontas Middle School
• High school scenarios:
  • J.R. Tucker High School (affects Hermitage High School and Mills Godwin High School)
  • Douglas S. Freeman High School (affects Mills Godwin High School)
  • Henrico High School (affects Hermitage and Highland Springs high schools)

Henrico community members still have time to get involved through the following feedback opportunities coming up:

• Attend a town hall meeting:
  • From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at Highland Springs High School, 200 S. Airport Drive
  • From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at the ACE Center at Hermitage, 8350 Hermitage High Blvd.
• Attend the public hearing on potential boundary adjustments:
  • At 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. at New Bridge Learning Center auditorium, 5915 Nine Mile Road, following the monthly school board meeting

At its Oct. 9 work session, the Henrico School Board said it will evaluate proposals with updated student enrollment counts from the 2025-26 school year after gathering more feedback on the five remaining scenarios.

The original boundary scenarios can be found in a Sept. 11 presentation to the School Board here.