RICHMOND, Va. β The Henrico County School Board made a significant decision Tuesday night regarding its controversial redistricting proposals, voting to remove two sections from the zone proposal map after months of heated debate among parents.
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Henrico parents voice concerns over proposed school redistricting
Since August, the school board's redistricting proposals have been a charged subject for parents pushed to consider where their children might end up learning. However, the first public meeting posied to bring in dozens of those same residents closed to an otherwise empty house with no one showing up for public comment.
Despite the lack of public attendance, the board made a decision that may provide relief for parents whose children attend Quioccasin Middle School.
"As we looked further into capacity and enrollment numbers from this year and how the other proposals have morphed and been updated, it was going to move student from lower capacity schools to higher capacity schools, and we just didn't find that to be a feasible or possibly sustainable solution," School Board Chair Marcie Shea said.
The board voted to remove Section 3 and Section 2 from the zone proposal map, meaning families in those areas will maintain their current school assignments.
"If they live in that zone which is Section 3 of the Tucker map or Section 2 of the Middle School Map, they will stay right where they are attending Colonial Trail Elementary School, Quiaccosin Middle School and Tucker High School," Shea said.
However, redistricting discussions are far from over. Shea explained that the focus is now primarily on high schools, their capacities and the schools that feed into them.
One proposal would move neighborhoods from the higher capacity Freeman High to the lower capacity Godwin. Another would shift neighborhoods from Tucker's higher capacity school to Hermitage's lower capacity facility.
A third proposal would take students from the east and west ends to feed into Henrico High, the lowest capacity high school in the district.
Shea emphasized these decisions are particularly important as high school students prepare to register for classes at the start of 2026.
"They make decisions about specialty centers and where they may opt to choose to attend for the next four years. They audition for classes they apply for special classes and so we want to make sure that our high schools student have all the information they need to make their decisions in January, and so we are committed to making a decision for them in December," Shea said.
The Henrico School Board is scheduled to make a final decision about which redistricting proposal they will implement on December 18.
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