Petersburg school system's chief of staff to take on acting superintendent's role May 1
PETERSBURG – In a move that was expected to happen, the School Board Wednesday night appointed the school system’s chief of staff to acting superintendent while the search launches for a permanent replacement.
Dr. John Farrelly will assume his new role on May 1, the day after the resignation of Dr. Tamara Sterling becomes effective. Sterling has been on paid administrative leave since Feb. 23 when she departed under circumstances that remain unclear.
Farrelly has led daily operations since Sterling left.
In a statement on the appointment, School Board chair Kenneth Pritchett said he and his colleagues were “thrilled” to have Farrelly in the position.
“He is a respected leader within our school division who deeply understands our students, staff, and community,” Pritchett said in the statement. “We are confident in his ability to ensure a smooth transition and continued focus on student achievement as we begin the search for a permanent superintendent.”
That search will be conducted nationwide, according to the announcement.
Farrelly came to Petersburg last year from Dare County, North Carolina where he was school superintendent. He has more than two decades of educational experience.
period. A nationwide search for a permanent superintendent will be undertaken.
In that same statement, Farrelly said he was “honored” to be chosen and vowed to have the school system “laser-focused on teaching and learning and continue providing our students with a high-quality education.
“I am committed to working collaboratively with the board, staff, parents, and community partners to ensure all students in our district have the opportunity to succeed,” he said.
As chief of staff, Farrelly’s annual salary was $165,000. A copy of his contract obtained by The Progress-Index did not mention any pay boosts associated with temporarily stepping into the superintendent’s shoes.
Sterling, who joined the school system as chief in late 2022, was paid a total annual salary of $230,000. That included a base salary of $170,000 and an additional salary of $60,000 paid from Petersburg executive leadership recruitment initiatives.
The reason for her sudden departure has been cloaked in secrecy.
There were questions about her exact status at the time she left. Sterling maintained on her LinkedIn profile that she left Petersburg last February, but Pritchett said she only was placed on leave.
The resignation was announced in a joint statement by Sterling and the board. It quoted lines from Sterling’s resignation letter applauding the “dedication and hard work of the staff, faculty, and administration,” and how with the School Board’s governance, the system will propel "toward even greater heights in the future.”
However, the school system has rejected two Virginia Freedom of Information Act requests from The Progress-Index for a copy of Sterling’s entire resignation letter, claiming it mentioned identifiable employees and therefore was covered by personnel issues. One of those requests was for a copy of the letter with the identifiable information redacted.
The Progress-Index also requested through FOIA copies of emails and other communications among Sterling, Pritchett and School Board members pertaining to questions about her job performance. The system replied that it would fulfill that request at a cost of more than $2,000 to the newspaper.
Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.
This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Acting superintendent named for Petersburg public schools
