YORK COUNTY — The York County School Division held a special meeting on Monday night to discuss comments made by former chair and District 5 representative Lynda Fairman that Superintendent Victor Shandor said violate parts of his contract and could potentially open the board up to a lawsuit.
During the meeting, Shandor presented a 31-page document compiled at the behest of the board after comments Fairman made during a January board meeting. Comments included statements from staff and parents centered around the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election, student discipline and the Virginia Education Association president, among others.
Shandor noted that many of the items in the document put him in breach of his contract which could open the board up to legal issues. In accordance with Section II of Shandor’s contract, school board members must inform him of any criticism so he can conduct an independent investigation.
“In my opinion, if not addressed publicly, her comments could negatively impact staffing and enrollment in our schools,” Shandor said.
The document also includes multiple emails, screenshots, and Facebook posts citing her alleged misconduct.
Fairman was elected to the school board in 2024 and chosen to serve as chair. After much controversy, the board voted to remove her as chair in May. Following her removal as chair, citizens launched a petition to fully remove her from the board.
Board Chair Kim Goodwin said after Shandor’s presentation the board worked closely with the superintendent to share their own concerns regarding communication.
“We asked Dr. Shandor to compile all of this and I know it took a lot of time to do that. I wanted it on record that the board members were asking in conjunction with the superintendent’s concerns,” Goodwin said.
In a closed session meeting on Friday, the board ultimately decided to strip Fairman of all her committee assignments and reallocate them to other board members. That decision will be reevaluated in June.
Fairman did not comment during the meeting but has said she is seeking legal counsel.
To view the meeting in its entirety, visit the YCSD YouTube page.