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Disagreement surrounding the contention that a Southampton County School Board member had not taken their oath of office led to the walkout of three board members at the board’s May 12 meeting, resulting in the loss of a quorum. The meeting proceeded, but the board was not able to take action on any items.

School Board Member Dr. Jennifer Tindle made a statement near the outset of the meeting indicating that Board Member Greg Scott had not taken his oath of office. 

Tindle asked Board Chair Dr. Deborah Goodwyn to ask Scott to be excused.

Goodwyn said she would not do so until she could verify the information provided.

This prompted the departure that night of Tindle, followed by Board Member Natalie Dever King and Board Member Brandon Rodgers, dropping the number of members present from the nine-member board to four.

Board Member and Vice Chair Denise Bunn and Board Member Christopher Smith Sr. were not present for the meeting.

Near the very beginning of the May 12 meeting, Goodwyn asked if any board member would like to add an item to the agenda.

Tindle said, “Madam Chair, before we add items to the agenda, there is something that needs to be brought to the attention of the School Board.”

She provided the following written version of her statement to The Tidewater News, which is largely the same as what she said in the meeting.

The written statement reads as follows:

“According to the Code of Virginia, Section 15.2-1522, every county, city, town and district officer, on or before the day on which his term of office begins, shall qualify by taking the oath prescribed by Section 49-1, before the circuit court for the county or city having jurisdiction for which he is elected or appointed, (or before the clerk of the circuit court.)

“And the Code of Virginia, Section 15.2-1524 (says), if any such officer fails to qualify as required by Section 15.2-1523, on or before the day on which his term begins, his office shall be deemed vacant.

“And, Southampton County School Board Policy BBBC states: All new school board members qualify by taking the oath of office prescribed for officers of the commonwealth on or before the day of the initial meeting of the new school board. Failure to take the oath of office within the time allowed by law renders the office vacant.

“Clearly, the oath of office, a pledge we take which holds us accountable to our constituents, and the Virginia Constitution, specifically Section 22.1-79, which outlines the powers and duties of a school board, is of the utmost importance.

“We have a sitting member of the School Board who does not have an oath of office on file with the Southampton County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office.

“Because this shows a failure to act upon the duties required by law and SCPS Board policy, and by law renders the seat vacant, I am asking that you comply with your duties as School Board chairperson and ask Greg Scott to be excused from this meeting and any future participation with the Southampton County School Board.

“I am also asking that we contact our legal representatives to counsel us on the ramifications of this situation.”

Goodwyn said, “Thank you for reading your statement. However, I will not ask Mr. Scott to leave the meeting until I can verify the information that you’ve provided.”

Tindle said, “Then I will be leaving this meeting because it is not a legal meeting as long as we have someone who is sitting that is not required.”

“That’s your option,” Goodwyn said, “but Mr. Scott will remain during this meeting, and I will double-check to make sure that what you’re saying is accurate.”

King said, “Can we consult with counsel to make sure? This is a serious thing. If he’s not had an oath of office on file, he should not continue the meeting in here.”

“We will go forward with the meeting tonight,” Goodwyn said.

“OK, well, I’m going to leave as well,” King said.

Goodwyn said, “OK, thank you. So now we have five School Board members left, so we do have a quorum. So is there a School Board member present who would like to add an item to the agenda?”

Rodgers said, “I’ll leave as well.”

“OK, so we have four School Board members present,” Goodwyn said. “Would you like to add an item to the agenda?”

“With only four School Board members, you don’t have a quorum now,” Tindle said as she packed up her computer for the night.

Goodwyn said, “We do not have a quorum, but we will have a meeting, which means that we cannot take action, but we can have a meeting, so we will proceed with the meeting tonight. And Ms. Bunn is on her way.”

On social media later in the evening, Scott disputed Tindle’s statement, asserting that he did take the oath of office, and he provided some documentation as evidence. There was some dispute as to whether the documentation contained a misprint as it seemed to indicate Scott’s term ran from March 9-June 30 of 2021 rather than July 1, 2021-June 30, 2025.

Scott said in a Facebook live video that evening that the document was generated by the clerk’s office and that he would be going to the clerk’s office the next day to have the misprint corrected.

The Tidewater News reached out to the clerk’s office on May 12 and to Scott on Friday, May 16, for official comment but had not received responses as of press time.

The Tidewater News also reached out to Goodwyn on Monday, May 19, and she said that at this time, she had no comment on the oath of office matter.

Southampton County Public Schools announced on its website that the School Board will hold a special called board meeting on Wednesday, May 28, at 7 p.m. in the Southampton High School Commons to take action on agenda items and closed session items from the May 12 regular meeting agenda.

The announcement noted that the meeting date had changed from its originally announced date — Wednesday, May 21 — due to scheduling conflicts.