COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. — The Colonial Heights School Board called an emergency meeting this week in which they reportedly reached a mutual separation agreement with Superintendent William Sroufe.
Starting Saturday, Feb. 18, Sroufe will be taking a leave of absence that will end June 30, 2023, when his official tenure as superintendent will come to a close.
In the meantime, the county school board will appoint an interim superintendent and begin their search for a permanent replacement.
Colonial Heights Public Schools made the official announcement on their Facebook page, where they also thanked Sroufe for his time as the superintendent:
“We would like to thank Dr. Sroufe for his many contributions to our division, including keeping our schools open during the COVID-19 pandemic, expanding instructional opportunities with Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, and refining best practices in the science of reading. He oversaw updates to our playgrounds, message boards, HVAC systems, window packages, and security measures, as well as improvements to the fine arts wing of the high school. Dr. Sroufe’s administrative team also brought in more than a million dollars in competitive grants and improved our ranking in the Commonwealth on SOL performance.”
Investigation into former Colonial Heights police chief
Former Colonial Heights Police Chief Jeff Faries was hired as Colonial Heights High School’s varsity softball coach in December 2022. Five months later, parents and students accused Faries of inappropriate touching, text messaging and social media interactions.
However, Faries was never charged despite a special prosecutor on the case stating there was evidence that a crime was committed. That prosecutor later alleged that school officials did not act with appropriate urgency once accusations had been brought to their attention.
8News has received no indication that the school board’s decision to part ways with Sroufe is connected to the scandal involving Faries.
On March 2, 2022, City Manager Douglas Smith placed Faries on administrative leave as the acting police chief. On March 30, Faries sent his letter of resignation to Smith, which went into effect on April 1.
