Henrico School Board selects Ogburn, Shea as 2021 leaders

The Henrico School Board Thursday unanimously elected Micky Ogburn (Three Chopt District) as its chair and Marcie Shea (Tuckahoe District) as its vice chair for 2021. It will be Ogburn’s third time serving as chair, as she enters her eighth year on the board. It will be the first board leadership role for Shea, who was elected in 2019 and joined the board last year.

During the meeting, Superintendent Amy Cashwell addressed the board and public about the system’s plans earlier this week to delay in-person learning indefinitely to allow for the second phase of COVID-19 vaccinations – during which school system employees can be vaccinated – to occur. She said that she understood the frustration of those who want to return their students to school in person.

“The pauses, delays and changes in plans since then have been hard on all of our stakeholders,” Cashwell said, explaining that news that vaccines would be available to HCPS employees next week was a surprising but welcome message. “Given this new and very promising development, we revised our timeline.”

The school system plans to hold a virtual meeting for employees about the vaccination process soon.

Henrico Health District officials anticipate being able to give 320 vaccinations every hour for 12 hours (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, according to HCPS School Health Supervisor Robin Gilbert (a total of 11,520 doses). HCPS employees are expected to receive the Moderna vaccine, she said, which requires a second shot four weeks after the first.

On Friday, however, Deputy Henrico County Manager Anthony McDowell told the Henrico Board of Supervisors during a retreat at Richmond Racceway that the state's decision Thursday to allow all those 65 and older to receive vaccinations during Phase 1B, the county likely would receive fewer vaccine doses than anticipated next week. As a result, it could take an additional week to vaccinate HCPS employees, as well as Henrico Police, Fire and hazmat officials.

Recipients develop about 50% protection from the virus by the time they receive the second shot, she said, and 95% protection two weeks later. That means that it would be sometime in early or mid-March at the earliest before all Henrico Schools employees who want to be vaccinated could be – and could have the full 95% protection.

As school officials continue to evaluate when a return to in-person learning will resume, they’ll also be working to fill a number of open positions that are key aspects of their safety and mitigation efforts. HCPS created new positions for classroom monitors, permanent substitutes and clinic aides, but many of them remain unfilled. As of Monday, the system had hired 46 classroom monitors but had 102 remaining positions open. It also had hired 43 permanent subs, but 31 such positions remained open.

Chief of Staff Beth Teigen told the board Thursday that the system had hired two more clinic aides since Tuesday – meaning that it had 22 in place but 30 positions still open.

Tuckahoe District School Board member Marcie Shea asked Acting Henrico Health Director Melissa Viray to explain why the school system’s 13-member health committee had shifted its focus to the HCPS mitigation strategies as opposed to community case counts and spread of COVID.

Viray responded that national and Henrico data is showing that significant transmission is not occurring in classrooms and that in-school mitigation is what prevents the spread of the virus.

Teigen said that there have been no known cases of transmission in Henrico schools from one person to another; however, the Virginia Department of Health does list Deep Run High School as the site of an ongoing outbreak, which began Dec. 23. An outbreak is defined as the occurrence of two or more related cases in the same location.

The school system has reported more than 175 cases of COVID among people inside school facilities since Aug. 12.

Thursday’s meeting also included time for a public hearing about proposed redistricting efforts involving Rivers Edge, Twin Hickory and Colonial Trail elementary schools in the Far West End, as well as Holladay Elementary, though no one spoke to directly address the matter.

Four people submitted written comments in advance of the hearing; two supported shifting all of the Twin Hickory subdivision back to Twin Hickory Elementary School, one encouraged countywide redistricting to begin again soon, and the fourth urged no new developments near Rivers Edge.

The board is expected to vote to adjust the boundaries for Rivers Edge, Colonial Trail, Twin Hickory and Holladay elementaries Jan. 28.