RICHMOND, Va – A leadership shakeup is expected to impact the Richmond School Board Monday night after Stephanie Rizzi announced she would be stepping down as chair.
Emails obtained by CBS 6 revealed Rizzi's colleagues were planning to take a vote to remove her from the position, and she expressed in a public statement that board members tried to keep the move a "thinly veiled secret."
The board chair is considered the leader of the governing body, which collectively sets policies for the city's school district.
According to board policy, the chair is responsible for leading all board meetings, setting agendas, appointing committees, and performing all other duties prescribed by law or by the board.
Rizzi was unexpectedly voted into the role in January 2023, replacing Dr. Shonda Harris-Muhammed.
At the time, Rizzi's colleagues praised her as a "fair and transparent" leader who would be "representative of everyone on the board."
However, there have been tense moments and disagreements between Rizzi and other board members in recent meetings.
Board member Dawn Page began raising concerns about Rizzi's leadership earlier this year, accusing Rizzi of making public statements without the board's permission and initiating an independent investigation of former board member Jonathan Young's conduct with a student without the board's approval.
Young was cleared of violating policies in that incident, per the investigation, but he resigned anyway after he said his colleagues were pursuing political attacks against him.
Additionally, during a June 17 meeting, Rizzi suggested her colleagues were speaking violently in the way they were interacting, which offended multiple other board members.
Rizzi's comment came after board member Mariah White demanded that their auditor answer questions about a report regarding an increase in overtime payments for bus drivers.
"He's not answering our questions, and that's a leadership problem," White said.
"No one up here is here to harm anyone, to withhold information from anyone. I'd appreciate it if we'd speak to each other in ways that are non-violent. There's a whole study on non-violent communication, and some of this communication has absolutely fallen into the category of violence," Rizzi responded.
"Oh, absolutely not," board member Shavonda Dixon interjected.
A discussion ensued with most board members objecting to Rizzi's comment.
Board member Harris-Muhammed called Rizzi last week to inform Rizzi of the board's plans to remove her, according to emails.
Explaining her reasoning for supporting the change, Harris-Muhammed told CBS 6 in a statement, “I have been deeply bothered by the lack of transparency from our school board leadership. It also has concerned me that information has been withheld from the entire school board which has created and lengthened the space of distrust.”
Throughout her leadership, some community members have praised Rizzi for her efforts to shorten the length of board meetings which used to run late into the night, enforce governance standards, and ease tensions between the board and the administration.
On Rizzi's social media announcement, commenters said they were thankful for her service and said it centered on the interests of the children.
Rizzi said she was completely honored to serve, calling it a "mission and dream come true." She told CBS 6 that she did not have further comments to add.
Her plan is to leave Monday night's board meeting early and return in August in her capacity as the 5th district representative.
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