Newport News School Board Votes to Remove Superintendent Following Teacher Shooting Incident

The Newport News School Board in Virginia has voted to remove district superintendent George Parker III following the shooting of a teacher by a 6-year-old student. The board voted 5-1 to remove Parker as the head of the district of about 26,500 students, and he will be replaced by Michele Mitchell, executive director of student advancement for Newport News Public Schools, in a 5-1 vote.

Parker’s departure had been expected, and his separation is effective Feb. 1. He will be paid a little over $502,000 in severance, which is two years of his current base salary of $251,000. School Board Chair Lisa Surles-Law said Parker was being removed “without cause,” and that his removal was based on the “future trajectory and needs of our school division.”

The decision to remove Parker comes after the Jan. 6 shooting of Abby Zwerner, a first-grade teacher at a Newport News elementary school. An attorney for Zwerner claimed earlier Wednesday that school administrators failed to heed multiple warnings that the student had a gun.

The shooting has sparked outrage among parents and teachers, and many have called for Parker’s removal. The school board’s decision to remove him is seen as a response to the community’s demands for accountability.

Parker had been superintendent since 2014 and had overseen the district’s efforts to reduce the achievement gap between white and minority students. He had also been praised for his efforts to improve school safety. His removal is seen as a major setback for the district, and the school board is now tasked with finding a suitable replacement.