Donley: ACPS Superintendent Should Resign

Vice Mayor Kerry Donley said Tuesday night he believes Alexandria Schools Superintendent Morton Sherman should resign following his response to the results of

Donley said he was disconcerted by the “basic and fundamental nature” of the recommendations of the audit and that simple procedures regarding internal fiscal controls were not in place. 

“In the end… it comes down to accountability and responsibility,” Donley said during oral reports at Tuesday’s meeting at . “It is my opinion—and I am speaking mainly as a member of Alexandria City Council and within my capacity as a fiduciary steward of the city’s taxpayers—in my opinion that the superintendent should resign because of these problems.”

Donley said he respects the authority of the Alexandria School Board in terms of its relationship with the superintendent. The board oversees the employment of a superintendent. 

However, Donley said his call for Sherman’s resignation is a conclusion he came to after reading the audit and hearing the response from the superintendent.

On March 9, Sherman said the fiscal mismanagement detailed in the audit was .

A request for comment from Sherman made Tuesday evening through the ACPS communications department was not returned by Wednesday morning.

"I hope that we can move forward in a good way here, but I really do think the superintendent needs to really reflect on this very carefully to see that he does ultimately take responsibility and accountability for this situation because it is in my view a serious one," Councilman Paul Smedberg said. 

Separately on Tuesday, the School Board asked Sherman for an independent compliance audit of financial controls within 45 days.

"The Board takes this external CIP report very seriously," said Board Chairman Sheryl Gorsuch. "…We were deeply concerned when we learned about the CIP issues last fall, and we have worked closely with the Superintendent and our School Board attorney, John Cafferky, to uncover and swiftly correct any deficiencies. No monies are missing—our tax dollars are safe. We have seen no evidence of personal gain. Although some procedures were not followed, our internal systems did catch the irregularities. All approved CIP projects can now be completed and we can return to our business of educating children."

The superintendent will present the next quarterly progress report on CIP projects, including any items temporarily deferred from last year, at the March 22 board meeting.