PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - The process to renovate schools in Pittsylvania County is moving forward after voters approved a 1% sales tax increase referendum by 900 votes in November. The $50 million in revenue from the sales tax increase will go toward improvements at 14 schools.

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - Bernard Bragen. Jr. comes to southwest Virginia with 9 years of superintendent experience in New Jersey. Thursday he began a new chapter in Montgomery County. "I'm here to support the community," he said. "I'm here to help the district move forward."

Frederick County Public Schools continues to push for the construction of a fourth high school to resolve student overcrowding issues. The School Board's recently approved 2024-2028 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which outlines projects it would most like to see accomplished, is topped with building a fourth high school - a long-discussed undertaking meant to accommodate enrollment growth.

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) - New lab schools are officially in the works after winning state dollars under a bipartisan initiative that has been a big priority for Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Some schools are aiming to open as early as fall 2023, with more expected to follow in 2024, according to Virginia's Secretary of Education Aimee Rogstad Guidera.

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) - Two high school students are in juvenile detention after police said they brought guns to school on Monday, Nov. 28. Those are at least the seventh and eighth weapons found at a Henrico, Richmond or Chesterfield school since September.

Local school boards are considering new policies to ensure parental notification of instructional material with sexually explicit content, as required by law.

Fairfax County Public Schools will now stock each of its 198 schools with the opioid overdose reversal medication known as Narcan, or Naloxone.

Mike Taylor, who has served as CEO of the Henrico Education Foundation for eight years, announced he is stepping down from the position at the end of the year. Taylor is moving to his home state of Tennessee and to serve as the CEO of the Knox Education Foundation in Knoxville, which will allow him to care for his elderly parents.

Recruiting and retaining quality educators and securing more resources as mental health-related needs continue to mount were among topics Amherst County Public Schools officials raised in a meeting Tuesday with state and local government leaders.

Fallout from the global pandemic, families in poverty and a loophole in state law are among likely factors blamed for a spike in chronic absenteeism at Southwest Virginia school divisions.