GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — In response to the Goochland County Public School Board appointing a new superintendent on Tuesday after suddenly firing the last one, the meeting's public comment period grew heated. With the board refusing to provide cause for that termination, residents could only speculate, with their reaction centering around race.
"Are you just really swapping out the Black man for the white man? Do they expect him to just do their bidding and be a yes man?" said Lauren Comstock, Goochland County Public Schools parent.
On April 1, exactly one week before the appointment of new superintendent Andrew 'Andy' Armstrong, the school board unanimously voted to terminate former superintendent Michael Cromartie without saying why.
A severance package including a year of his salary, totalling $189,000, will be given to Cromartie.
"I beg to ask the question, if it wasn't conduct or performance, then what was the criteria under which to terminate Dr. Cromartie? Not only that -- but to pay him $189,000 for him to leave?" said commenter Richard Verlander.
Cromartie, who served as Goochland's superintendent for just under two years, was beloved by many.
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"He was working hand-in-hand with the clergy, with the community -- and he was let go on spring break, suddenly, without any type of notice from the community," said Rev. Dr. Emanuel C. Harris, pastor at Jerusalem Baptist Church. "The board is perceived as racist and what they're doing is really breeding a lot of tension in the community and they have to be careful because there's going to be backlash."
Tyrone Mealy, a Goochand parent and pastor at Saint James Baptist Church, told 8News he believes that recent polices brought forth by the Trump Administration regarding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have played a role.
"I think they are following the rhetoric that has been laid before us on a federal level," Mealy said. "I believe that they are going district by district and they are doing things in a way that -- they are slowly but surely trying to take away everybody's voice in this one act of one movement."
Comstock explained to 8News that she is frustrated as a parent, as she says the focus recently has not been on educating students.
"It's been on political stunt after political stunt and this is just another one of them," Comstock said. "This last one costing a couple hundred thousand dollars -- that's being diverted away from educating our students."
During Tuesday night's board meeting, some parents and residents did agree with the board's decision.
"We, the citizens of Goochland, do not know all the details of everything you do -- but I could say I trust you and support you in all the hard decisions you make," one resident said.
"You took a vote that wasn't politically safe, you didn't play nice to protect feelings -- you stood up and you said 'This isn't good enough for our kids.' That's leadership," another parent added.
Armstrong will begin his duties on April 22, according to the school division.
8News reporters asked to speak with the board chair ahead of and after the board meeting, but an administrator said they could not comment on a personnel matter.