MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – Months of speculation came to a head when former Montgomery County Superintendent Dr. Mark Miear opened up about his firing on Facebook.
“There’s a lot of speculation, obviously, as to what folks have said,” Miear said. “And, you know, rumors are out there.”
He says the school board let him go suddenly, with no explanation to parents, teachers, or students.
Former Montgomery County student Natalie Miller was a senior when this happened.
“We were blindsided. We didn’t have any idea of like what had gone on,” Miller said.
In a telling Facebook post, Miear outlined the incident that led to his dismissal. According to him, the school board OK’d a decision about his own child without his consent.
“I was informed by the deputy superintendent that they were going to change my child’s name at school,” he said. “I became very upset. I became a very angry parent. I believe I was acting in the role as a parent on that day.”
Later that night he was placed on leave. The next day, the board met and decided to let him go.
Miller says there is a lack of transparency by the school board, and the former superintendent agrees.
“My idea was probably to create speculation that maybe whatever happened with me was more egregious than it actually was,” he said.
He now plans to run for school board.
He will be seated beside the very school board members who voted to dismiss him if he wins this November.
“There are three specific board members who are extremely difficult to work with. And, you know, I don’t think that they are effective school board members,” he said.
Right now, the school board is not talking about the situation.
Miear says he plans to advocate for parental rights — which is why he believes he was fired to begin with.
“I believe in our students in this county, all students, and also believe in parental rights, which I believe mine were violated,” he said.