BY CLARA VAUGHN, Eastern Shore Post —
The Accomack County School Board voted to dismiss the school system’s top official on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
The vote to end Superintendent Rhonda Hall’s employment comes 16 months after she began the role and follows a series of public comments criticizing the school system and its leadership.
“This decision was made following a thorough review and consideration of various factors related to the leadership of our school district,” said the school board in a press release from Chair Janet Martin Turner Wednesday.
“We believe it is in the best interest of the district to move forward with new leadership that aligns with our vision and goals,” it said.
The vote follows several controversies disclosed during school board meetings, including statements from Accomack Sheriff Todd Wessells that school leaders have been “inconsistent” in cooperating with investigations.
“When my office receives reports of school threats or reports of criminal activity current at one of our schools, it’s critical that my deputies and investigators are provided the information necessary to conduct the proper investigation,” Wessells said during a school board meeting Oct. 15.
“We get cooperation sometimes. Sometimes we don’t,” he said.
The board also voted Oct.1 to take back a 5% pay raise Hall received without the board’s approval, which it said violated the terms of the superintendent’s contract.
In a separate vote, the board asked Hall to return the difference of any salary increase she received between when the raise took effect July 1 and its vote to revoke the raise.
However, the board was divided on that decision. To decline Hall’s raise was to “ignore a past practice,” said board member Lisa Johnson during the Oct. 1 meeting.
The community was also split in its response to the board’s decision to fire Hall, with dozens posting in support of the former superintendent on Facebook after the vote.
Hall became superintendent July 1, 2023, after serving as acting superintendent for several months prior. She served as interim superintendent from April to July 2014.
She moved up the ranks to become the school system’s top official after serving over three decades in Accomack County Public Schools, including as a second-grade teacher, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent for human resources and administration, director of school improvement and federal programs, and assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
She is a graduate of Accomack County schools.
Hall declined to comment on the school board’s decision Thursday.
The board will keep the community informed as it conducts the search for a new superintendent, its release said.
— Stefanie Jackson, an Eastern Shore Post staff writer, is a member of the Accomack County School Board. She does not have input in school board coverage.
