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Franklin City Council voted 6-0-1 on Monday, March 10, to send a letter to the Franklin City School Board requesting the removal of the board chair, Robert Holt.

Ward 1 Councilman Mark R. Kitchen was the first to make the request. He shared his concern about unrest in the community in the face of what he described as a lack of transparency from most of the School Board in the wake of protests and public comments from community and council members expressing opposition to Franklin City Public Schools’ recent reassignment of longtime Franklin High School Principal Travis Felts.

Felts had been principal at FHS since 2012, and the school division officially announced in a Feb. 10 news release that he was being moved out of that position and being appointed as FCPS’ new director of extracurricular activities, Jobs for Virginia Graduates and virtual programs.

On Feb. 10, the City Council requested a meeting with the School Board to discuss the decision to reassign Felts. Ward 5 Councilwoman and Vice Mayor Wynndolyn H. Copeland said shortly after 8 p.m. during the council’s Feb. 24 meeting that the council had not heard anything as of that date.

Later that evening, School Board Clerk Almeta Davis emailed City Council members on behalf of FCPS Superintendent Dr. Carlton Carter and Holt to inform the members that the previously scheduled joint meeting between the City Council and School Board had been canceled. She stated that the decision was made following the advice of legal counsel.

“The cancellation is due to the fact that Mr. Felts has retained legal representation,” she stated. “As a result, any meeting, conversation, email or text related to this matter could be subject to discovery if the case proceeds to trial. Furthermore, individuals involved in such communications may also be called upon as witnesses.”

On Feb. 27, the School Board held its first meeting since the announcement of Felts’ reassignment. Carter’s Superintendent’s Report addressed Franklin High School’s academic performance during the meeting.

Since Feb. 10, Holt has written two columns published in The Tidewater News, one about School Board and superintendent operations, and another about the commitment and process of School Board service. Both were relevant to the situation, though they did not directly address Felts’ reassignment.

Except for a brief comment by Ward 4 Board Member and Board Vice Chair Cristina Boone, no one on the board utilized the School Board Comments portion of the Feb. 27 School Board meeting to respond to the large crowd on hand.

During the Council Comments portion of the City Council’s March 10 meeting, Kitchen shared his perspective on the state of the city.

“This city is in a state of crisis,” he said. Then, alluding to his career in law enforcement, he added, “I, along with you, Mayor (Kaplan), and Maj. Drewry from the sheriff’s office, spent decades trying to keep the peace, talk people down who are angry, avoid violence, avoid vandalism.”

Kitchen indicated that the community is on edge, and then he shared his perspective on what most of the School Board has been doing.

“Five weeks of ignoring the citizens, hiding behind the law and telling us all this will pass over in a couple of weeks, in my opinion, is very irresponsible and anything but transparent,” he said.

“So far, there is only one board member who has had the intestinal fortitude to listen to the citizens and answer questions,” Kitchen added, without identifying the individual. 

In conclusion, Kitchen said, “As far as the other six (board members), it doesn’t matter to me if they’re reelected, reappointed, whatever happens to them, but I’m making a motion to ask Mr. Holt, the chairman, to step down from his position as chairman of the School Board.”

“And I second,” Copeland added.

This prompted applause from some in attendance at the meeting.

Franklin City Manager Rosylen Oglesby established that the council could consider writing a letter to Holt, asking him to step down. She indicated that the letter could bear the signature of the mayor or every council member in agreement with the request.

The council passed a motion to temporarily suspend Robert’s Rules of Order so it could vote on the matter of requesting Holt’s resignation.

Ward 6 Councilwoman Jessica G. Banks said, “I make a motion that we send a letter to the School Board asking (for) the removal of the School Board chair, Robert Holt. I also would like to include that not only the mayor signs it but everybody who is in agreement with this decision puts their name on it so that it can be recorded and documented that we are standing in agreement with that.”

“And I second,” Copeland added again.

When the vote took place, Ward 4 Councilman Dr. Linwood Johnson abstained from voting.