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Students and parents press Henrico school board for safer crossings, program continuity and clearer policy costs
Summary
During public forum on Aug. 28, a fifth‑grader described an unsafe intersection and alleged unequal access to a bike program; a parent said a variance denial disrupted her child's specialty‑center senior year; another parent praised phone policy but asked for cost transparency; a student proposed a districtwide entrepreneurship program.
Speakers in the public forum urged the Henrico County School Board to address safety, program access and policy clarity.
“Right now, the intersection near our school is not safe,” said Yvaine, a fifth‑grader at Shady Grove Elementary, who told the board that some students who live on one side of the street are not allowed to walk or bike while students on the other side are. She questioned why the division told families nothing could be done and said some privileged parents appeared to influence an unofficial expansion of the bike program. “What is that, if not segregation based on where we live?” she asked, appealing directly to school leadership and a named supervisor in her remarks.
Winifred Cooper described a denied variance for her son, a rising senior in the engineering specialty center at Highland Springs. Cooper said staff in the variance office and the school principal did not return calls after the denial and that the decision disrupted her son’s final year after 11 years of investment in Henrico schools. She proposed that students accepted into four‑year specialty programs who remain in good standing should be allowed to complete the program.
Rommel Mills, a 16‑year‑old student who identified his school in the transcript as 'Herakpo High School,' proposed a supervised districtwide student entrepreneurship program: school clubs would buy inventory wholesale, sell retail and keep profits for the school while students learn business and financial skills. Mills said 30 students signed up at a recent club fair and urged board support to pilot the idea.
Parent Marlene Sherlock said her child has adapted positively to the new phone policy and urged the board to report costs (both dollars and opportunity) for initiatives and to provide earlier, clearer reporting on classroom sizes. She also raised concerns about bathroom access and consistent use of weapons detectors at events.
The board reminded speakers that it would not respond during public forum but that staff would follow up after the meeting. The public forum concluded and the board moved on to the consent agenda.
