EDUCATION

State board approves Spotsylvania superintendent candidate with no background in education

by: Jakob Cordes
Posted: Sep 15, 2022 / 05:00 PM EDT
Updated: Sep 15, 2022 / 05:11 PM EDT

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Virginia Board of Education agreed to license a controversial candidate for superintendent in Spotsylvania County with no experience in education — and a history of incendiary social media posts — clearing the way for him to assume the vacant position. ... A number of speakers called on the board to deny Mark Taylor entry to the state’s list of qualified superintendents, citing his lack of relevant experience and racially charged social media posts. A handful of speakers supported his candidacy, accusing those opposed to his appointment of political bias. ... Taylor was the choice of the school board after they abruptly fired the previous superintendent without cause in January, cementing the control of the board’s new conservative majority.

Who is Mark Taylor?

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Controversy has also swirled around posts made by Taylor on his personal Facebook page. They allegedly include memes mocking trans people and school shootings, racist innuendos and calls for parents to pull their children out of public schools.







Facebook posts, apparently made by Mark Taylor, which were submitted to the Board of Education for consideration Thursday.

“This is the kind of man I would not want my children interacting with at all,” said Julie Young, a parent with two children in Spotsylvania schools. “And I certainly don’t want him in charge of an entire school division.” ... In an interview with ABC-affiliate WJLA, Taylor told reporters that he didn’t make the posts — which were made over several months and interspersed with unrelated posts appearing to be from Taylor — and his account may have been hacked. ... “I don’t understand how someone attacks or accesses an account, I imagine it’s possible,” he told WJLA.

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Taylor also drew support from Spotsylvania resident James Manship, who appeared before the board in colonial garb and claimed at times to speak as the “spirit” of founding fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

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