Henrico Schools staff criticize lack of teacher voice in division’s decision-making

Multiple Henrico Schools staff members urged Henrico School Board members to put collective bargaining back on the table for discussion in the board’s online public forum Feb. 13, emphasizing a lack of “teacher voice” in HCPS’ decisions.

Since November of 2023, the school board has received hundreds of comments pushing for collective bargaining on their online and in-person public forums from HCPS staff, several of whom are members of the Henrico Education Association, the county’s labor union for educators. In September, the school board discussed the possibility of collective bargaining for HCPS staff for the first time publicly and ultimately decided not to move forward with drafting a collective bargaining resolution.

During the discussion, HCPS Chief of Staff Holly Coy presented the board with more than 440 pages of information the division had collected, including how collective bargaining worked in other Virginia districts, results from an employee engagement survey, and research on how collective bargaining would impact HCPS’ organizational structure.

Some board members expressed concerns that there was not enough interest from HCPS staff in fully pursuing collective bargaining for the division, and that the initiative had not received full support from the county’s Board of Supervisors. 

But several HCPS staffers want the conversation on collective bargaining to be resumed.

“The staff wants collective bargaining,” wrote Kim Zimmerman, a teacher at David A. Kaechele Elementary. “They (like the board) have been fed scare tactics for years and do not understand what the true purpose of collective bargaining is. Teachers want to be involved in the decision making process.”

“In light of everything happening with our national government and the U.S. Department of Education, we need a school district with strong protections for its students, teachers and all faculty,” wrote Christine Hopkins, a teacher at Tuckahoe Middle. “I feel the best way to ensure that students, teachers, and other employees are protected is by giving HEA collective bargaining to work with the school board to create policies that support all of us.”

HCPS employees had the opportunity to provide feedback to the division in an anonymous survey launched this past summer, open from late July until mid-August and promoted by the division to employees, which asked participants about working conditions, compensation, and other topics but did not directly ask about their opinions on collective bargaining. Only 26% of HCPS staff completed the survey, which board chair and Tuckahoe representative Marcie Shea said was a sign that collective bargaining was not a top priority for most staff.

However, some staffers argued that the survey response rate was not truly representative of employee interest in collective bargaining.

“I feel that it was deceptive for HCPS to say that there wasn’t enough interest on the employees’ part,” wrote Short Pump Middle teacher Michelle McGrath. “Many are scared to come forward with their support, because they fear retaliation. Also, the county wasn’t transparent about the fact that they were using the survey to measure interest in collective bargaining.”

‘It feels like yelling into the void’

Other staffers brought up a lack of teacher input in leadership decisions, arguing that the current system fails to allow advocacy and direct feedback from teachers.

“Over the past school year, I have noticed a considerable decline in the way that leaders within the school system communicate with teachers and staff,” wrote Emily Lancaster, a teacher at Skipwith Elementary. “Not only is there a communication breakdown, but the way that teachers are treated by leaders in central office make us feel expendable and undervalued.”

HCPS has several advisory committees that report directly to division leaders, including a Teacher Advisory Council, where teachers, chosen by building principals, can serve for two years. However, some staff have concerns that teacher representatives on the TAC do not have a real voice.

“I am asking for HCPS leadership to develop a better system – some way to connect building staff with county leadership that goes beyond the TAC committee,” wrote Mary Morrissey, a teacher at Short Pump Middle. “It has been many years since the TAC committee actually was used as a way to address staff concerns or questions.”

In addition to their TAC representative, HCPS staff members can also give feedback to their principals, who will share comments directly to division leadership, said HCPS spokesperson Eileen Cox.

Teacher voice is also lacking when it comes to the division’s decisions for how to proceed during days when schools must be closed due to weather, according to some HCPS staffers. While HCPS has completely cancelled classes during some bad weather days in the past two months, some days have been marked as asynchronous learning days, where students complete school work online, or remote learning days, where teachers teach regular classes online.

For some HCPS teachers and parents, remote learning can be an extra burden, and does not allow students to effectively learn like they would in-person, said Lauryn Galloway, an HCPS parent and Skipwith Elementary teacher. 

“You are asking teachers that may have never taught virtually to teach remotely without giving them the extra time to prep the materials to do so effectively,” she said. “It feels like yelling into the void when we speak up. . . This remote learning directive is just another in a long line of notices from central office and the school board that continues to chant the same refrain, ‘We don’t care about your expertise, your thoughts, or how this affects you. Just do it.’”

HCPS implements remote learning days to allow the division to recoup time without impacting the school calendar and to ensure the continuity of learning during unplanned closures, said Cox. Staff who want to give feedback on remote learning days can go to their TAC representative or principal, she said.

HCPS support staff also criticized the lack of pay increases for instructional assistants compared to teachers and bus drivers. Through last year’s HCPS budget, both teachers and bus drivers received a 7.2% raise, while other HCPS staff received a 4.8% raise. The school board has not yet discussed pay raises included in this year’s budget, which will be considered later this spring.

“Despite our significant contributions, long-term IAs often go unrecognized and underpaid. It is high time to acknowledge our hard work, and I am advocating for better compensation,” wrote Brandi Brown, an exceptional education instructional assistant at Skipwith Elementary. “Henrico gave bus drivers a substantial raise last spring. Where is the raise for us? How could you do what’s right by them and ignore us? It’s insulting that we are still feeling completely forgotten about.”

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.