After the Spotsylvania County School Board announced it terminated former Superintendent Mark Taylor “with cause” back in March, the reasons for his dismissal were not revealed — at least, not publicly.
But a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by Taylor Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia unveils the reasons the board gave for his firing and shed light on why Taylor believes he was terminated.
Thomas Strelka, a Roanoke-based attorney representing Taylor, alleges in the lawsuit that Taylor was dismissed because he “organized and implemented a book fair” promoting Christian literature on Dec. 2, 2023, at Riverbend High School.
The lawsuit, which will be heard by Judge Roderick Young, states that Taylor acted as a private citizen “at all times” and used personal funds to pay for the entirety of the event.
“The board permits members of the public to reserve and use school property for events such as book fairs,” the lawsuit states. “Mr. Taylor took all necessary steps to organize and implement the book fair on school property just as a member of the public and followed the board’s procedures and rules.”
The lawsuit lists as defendants School Board Chair Lorita Daniels, Vice Chair Nicole Cole and three members who were elected last November — Megan Jackson, Carol Medawar and Belen Rodas. Board members April Gillespie and Lisa Phelps did not support Taylor’s termination.
The Free Press sent emails to school division spokesperson Rene Daniels and all board members listed as defendants seeking comment on the lawsuit but did not receive a reply as of publication time.
Taylor is seeking actual and general damages, compensatory damages, back pay, front pay, equitable relief and punitive damages. He is also requesting incidental and consequential costs associated with the termination, including attorney fees and any other relief the court deems appropriate.
The filing claims that Taylor’s First Amendment rights were violated because the book fair was an expression of those rights. The book fair’s theme showcased conservative Christian authors and critics. Taylor partnered with former TV star and Christian conservative Kirk Cameron, who spoke at the event, as well as SkyTree Book Fairs and Brave Books.
SkyTree Book Fairs is a nonprofit organization that describes itself as a “school-choice alternative to the sexually explicit content distributed in Scholastic’s book fairs.” Brave Books is described as a “Christian publishing company that makes books for kids that reinforces biblically based, foundational values.”
Although Taylor’s lawsuit asserts he was acting as a private citizen, on a video on the social media platform X, Cameron promoted the book fair by noting that the Spotsylvania superintendent is putting it on and was replacing Scholastic book fairs with SkyTree. A Facebook invitation from Wilderness Tabernacle of Culpeper and then-Spotsylvania County Public Schools Director of Communications Tara Mergener and then-Chief of Staff Jon Russell also promoted the event by stating “Spotsylvania School Superintendent Mark Taylor invites you to a Christmas book fair with Kirk Cameron.” A Facebook post from the church later thanked “Superintendent Mark Taylor” for hosting the event.
Taylor was placed on administrative leave less than two months after the book fair; Lorita Daniels sent him a letter dated Jan. 22 notifying him of the decision and informing him not to contact any staff members or board members to discuss the issue and not to return to the division’s central office until notified. He was also required to remain available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in case anyone handling his duties needed assistance.
Strelka said in the lawsuit that the board should’ve known its decision was “unlawful” and that the book fair hosted by Taylor did not impede the board’s mission.
“Defendants retaliated against Mr. Taylor because of his constitutionally protected speech and right of association,” the lawsuit continues. “Defendants’ termination of a public employee for expressing First Amendment rights is a violation of a clearly established statutory and constitutional rights.”
Documents included by Taylor’s attorneys in the lawsuit detail the reasons the school board listed for dismissing Taylor, who was earning $245,000 per year. The book fair is not mentioned as a cause.
In a letter to Strelka dated Feb. 28, Malik Drake, an Alexandria-based attorney hired by the school board, gave Taylor a deadline of March 4 to accept a settlement or be terminated with cause.
Drake’s letter to Taylor’s attorney stated there is no evidence that a vote was taken to approve a superintendent contract.
“We don’t believe Mr. Taylor was ever appointed by the board,” Drake wrote.
Taylor’s contract was signed by former Chair Kirk Twigg as well as former Interim School Board Attorney Whitson Robinson.
“Mr. Twigg did sign a contract with Mr. Taylor, but that contract was never approved by the board,” Drake stated … “There are also several potential issues relating to Mr. Taylor’s violation of the terms of the superintendent’s contract. However, these issues will obviously be subordinate to the position of the board that the contract was never lawfully approved and thus, under the law, would be deemed void.”
Phelps and Gillespie questioned if there was sufficient cause to fire Taylor during an April meeting.
Drake’s February correspondence with Strelka attempts to establish cause by alleging that Taylor violated state laws and school division policies, including “the hiring of several unlicensed and unqualified employees.”
Drake also mentioned other possible state law and school policy violations, including failure to provide supervision and evaluations and the disposal and inventory of school property on several occasions. Taylor removed 14 books deemed sexually explicit from school libraries in 2023.
Drake stated that Taylor “may have repeatedly violated the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and school division policy in relation to FOIA; that he also did not fulfill the requirement to communicate with the board; and did not file required reports and evaluations.
Drake alleged that on social media, Taylor made numerous “offensive and inappropriate” posts that the board believes “may bring into question” his ability to serve as superintendent of any school division in Virginia. Drake hinted that the reasons he listed aren’t the entirety of Taylor’s alleged misdeeds, stating: “We will not significantly delve into details of specific allegations regarding Mr. Taylor’s violations of state laws and school division policies” except for the reasons he mentioned.
Drake offered to “facilitate good faith negotiations of a settlement” but urged Taylor to accept the offer “promptly.”
Daniels notified Taylor on March 19 that he was terminated effective immediately. He received his final paycheck on March 28 and his health insurance with the division expired on April 30.
Strelka said the issues Drake listed in his letter were “knowingly false” and “intentionally fabricated by the board with malice to harm Mr. Taylor.”
“The board was at all times aware that no sufficient cause existed justifying the termination of Mr. Taylor,” the lawsuit states. “The board wrongfully terminated Mr. Taylor in violation of his contract.”
