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The Henrico School Board made its first official statement on the issue of collective bargaining, responding to many Henrico Schools staff who have publicly advocated for contract negotiations since this past November.
At an afternoon work session May 9, school board chair and Varina representative Alicia Atkins acknowledged the written and in-person comments made by HCPS staff and community members at the school board’s recent public forums, saying that the school board will continue to explore and educate themselves on collective bargaining.
“Board members, in collaboration with the superintendent, remain committed to furthering our understanding on this matter, assessing its potential impact on the school division and employees, and exploring a path forward,” Atkins said. “Please know that your feedback has been duly noted and continues to be reviewed.”
The board also approved an official task for HCPS Superintendent Amy Cashwell to gather feedback from employees and other stakeholders, look at how collective bargaining works in other Virginia school divisions, and explore how collective bargaining would impact the county’s Unified Pay Plan (UPP), which places all school and government employees on the same pay step process. Cashwell was also tasked to provide a progress report to the board by September.
“To inform future considerations, the school board tasks the superintendent to gather stakeholder feedback and explore best practices for employee engagement, provide information about collective bargaining in school divisions throughout the commonwealth, and provide information and considerations about the school division’s organizational structure, including the Unified Pay Plan,” Atkins said.
HCPS staff and others have made hundreds of comments pushing for collective bargaining at the school board’s online and in-person public forums. In March, leaders from the Henrico Education Association, the labor union that represents HCPS educators, said they had collected over 1,000 signatures from staff stating they wanted the HEA as their negotiating body.
Dozens of HEA members, HCPS staff and supporters flocked to the May 9 evening school board meeting, all dressed in red, to advocate for collective bargaining at the in-person public forum. While Atkins officially gave the board’s statement on the issue earlier that day, board members did not respond to any of the comments made at the forum, following the board’s usual policy for public forums.
HEA members emphasized that if approved, contract negotiations would be led by a collective body of HCPS staff, not a third party.
“I often hear that colleagues don’t want a so-called third party interfering in the relationship between employees and HCPS,” said Aaron Lam, a Spanish teacher at J.R. Tucker High School and a HEA member. “And I have great news on that. A union is employees using their collective power to improve their and their students’ conditions. There is no one stepping into our affairs – we ourselves are stepping up.”
HCPS staff also highlighted the recent HCPS budget passed for the 2024-2025 school year, which included a 4.8% pay increase for eligible employees as well as an extra pay increase for teachers and bus drivers, but not support staff. Collective bargaining would ensure less inequality among the pay and treatment of different HCPS staff, according to HEA member and math teacher Julia Laing, who works at Highland Springs High School.
“Bonuses, stipends, step raises are always for some, never for all,” she said. “We all need a voice in our contracts. We are the ones working day in and day out to create the best possible learning environment for our students from when they first step onto the bus to when they finally step across the stage. Give us what we need to make it happen.”
While the Henrico School Board still has yet to make an official vote on collective bargaining, several other Virginia school divisions have recently approved collective bargaining for their school employees. Other divisions have shot down proposals. But many HCPS staff members, including Mills. E Godwin High history teacher Nora Lesko, hope that collective bargaining still has a potential future in HCPS.
“As members of the school board, you are at a crossroads,” she said. “By moving forward in the process towards collective bargaining for HCPS employees, you have the ability to make a historic step in Henrico County and the state of Virginia. Let that be your legacy.”
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Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s Report for America Corps member and education reporter. Her position is dependent upon reader support; make a tax-deductible contribution to the Citizen through RFA here.
