PETERSBURG – The local educators’ union does not appear to buy claims by outgoing interim school superintendent Dr. John Farrelly that his upcoming departure is an “opportunity” for career growth.

Instead, the Petersburg Education Association is blaming the School Board, saying it interferes too much with the day-to-day operations of Petersburg City Public Schools to the detriment of the futures of students and teachers. A PEA statement issued Tuesday afternoon called his resignation “one more distraction from the vital work” of educators.

“As the leadership carousel in Petersburg Public Schools continues with the newly announced departure of Interim Superintendent Dr. John Farrelly, the people left to pay the price, as usual, are the students and educators of our city’s public schools.” the PEA statement read.

Farrelly, a retired North Carolina school superintendent who came to Petersburg as the system’s chief of staff last year, said Tuesday morning he had taken a job as finance director for the school system in Caroline County, north of metro Richmond. He told The Progress-Index he will assume his new duties the second week of July – just as the school system is hoping to wrap up its search for a permanent replacement for Dr. Tamara Sterling.

Its timing comes as the school system has been battered by both the PEA and the overall Petersburg community for allegations of financial impropriety by Sterling, the way her departure from Petersburg was handled, and lack of School Board action on collective bargaining with the union. Last month, the PEA issued a public no-confidence vote in the School Board, and said it would actively recruit and support candidates in this November elections for seats in wards 2, 4 and 6.

“Established and trusted leadership, providing much-needed continuity and a commitment to PPS, would go a long way toward building and maintaining the high-quality learning and teaching conditions our children and school employees need and deserve,” the PEA statement continued. “Further, while Dr. Farrelly’s resignation is being painted by some as simply a move to a better opportunity, city educators also see it as a move born out of frustration at being hampered in one’s job by unnecessary interference from some members of the city’s school board. This is but one more distraction from the vital work of educating our children.”

‘News travels extremely fast’

Farrelly acknowledged his departure in a Tuesday morning email message to key PCPS staff. He expressed a desire to have had “private conversations with several of you” but opted for the email after The Progress-Index broke the news Tuesday morning.

“That’s not possible in Petersburg, where news travels extremely fast,” he wrote.

In the message, Farrelly did not address the ongoing controversy. He focused, instead, on the opportunity to work in Caroline County, calling it “an opportunity we could not pass up.”

Farrelly accepted the position Monday night. A social-media post from the Caroline school system noted that the original choice for the finance director post had withdrawn her acceptance.

“This is bittersweet for me because I feel like a lot of work to turn the division around is left on the table,” Farrelly wrote. “However, I know that I have poured everything I could into the various roles I’ve played for the past year.”

He said turnaround still is viable and could happen under new division leadership because “many of you are playing critical roles” in that turnaround. He thanked the staff for “instantly accepting me as a teammate.”

“A big part of me wishes that I could be witness to seeing the division grow and improve teaching and learning in PCPS,” he wrote.

The School Board has said it plans to have a permament superintendent in place well before the start of the 2024-25 school year.

Related: Petersburg School Board: Sterling resigns as superintendent

Related: Petersburg school system’s chief of staff to take on acting superintendent’s role May 1

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg teachers not sold on interim superintendent’s reason for leaving