Days after getting backlash for a social media post, Dorothy “Dot” Heffron announced her resignation from the Chesterfield County School Board on Sunday.
Heffron, who represents the Clover Hill district, said in a statement that her resignation would be effective Dec. 31 to allow for a smooth transition to an interim representative.
The other school board members — Ann Coker, Lisa Hudgins, Dominique Chatters and Steven Paranto — released a joint statement shortly after saying that Heffron’s resignation had been submitted and accepted.
Last week, a host of Republican leaders, including Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, called on Heffron to resign for an Instagram post referencing Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist who was shot and killed Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University.
The post read: “Call me old fashioned, but I remember when we used to be okay with shooting Nazis.”
On Friday, the rest of the school board admonished Heffron’s post and called on her to resign.
“As elected officials, we are bound by our governance policies and a responsibility to model respect and professionalism for the students, staff, and families we serve,” the shared statement read. “This post is in direct violation of those standards.”
In her resignation, Heffron apologized to those she had “hurt and disappointed,” including Kirk’s loved ones.
“I deeply regret the pain that my post has caused,” she said. “It was never my intention to make light of violence or to suggest that harm to anyone is ever acceptable. As an elected official and as someone entrusted with the responsibility of supporting students, families, and educators, I should have shown better judgment.”
Youngkin says to resign immediately
On Monday, Youngkin pushed back on plans for Heffron to resign at the end of the year, saying she should instead resign immediately.
“Let’s be perfectly clear: a school board member suggested it was ok to shoot people for their beliefs,” Youngkin said on X. “She must resign immediately. Not tomorrow, not next month, immediately.”
Youngkin also criticized the school board for the end-of-year plan.
“It is beyond unacceptable for the Chesterfield County School Board to push off this resignation till December,” he added. “No student, no parent, no teacher nor administrator should be exposed to this violent thinking.”
Shortly before the social media backlash against Heffron, Alana Hartman-Hall, dean of students at Clover Hill High School, was the subject of targeted criticism due to an alleged Facebook post she made against Kirk.
The post read: “When you promote violence and advocate for a percentage of teachers and students to be sacrificed to school shootings. You reap what you sow… If you aren’t in a school and aren’t responsible for kids you’ll never get it. Once again Charlie Kirk you reap what you sow.”
Chesterfield County Public Schools released a statement Thursday saying that the school division was aware of certain social media posts made by “staff members” and that division leadership were reviewing the matter.
Neither Heffron nor Hartman-Hall were mentioned by name. Clover Hill High School declined to comment on Hartman-Hall’s status.
Elsewhere in Virginia
WAVY reported that a Newport News teacher was placed on administrative leave after allegedly making a Facebook post about Kirk saying “I hope he suffered through all of it.”
The Daily Progress reported that Orange County High School teacher Aaron Beck may face disciplinary action after he made an apparent comment about Kirk’s death.
“I’ve never wished a man dead, but I’ve read some obituaries with great pleasure,” Beck said in a Facebook post.
Virginia State Superintendent Emily Anne Gullickson said Friday that the state Board of Education is prepared to revoke the teaching licenses of any educators who have posted comments online about Kirk that celebrate political violence.
“Local school divisions should promptly investigate (reports of online posts) in accordance with their policies and local Standards of Professional Conduct and Ethics and refer teachers and administrators who have violated these essential standards of decency to the Virginia Board of Education for licensure revocation,” Gullickson wrote.
“The Department stands ready to support superintendents and will be evaluating options with the Board of Education for state action for those local school divisions that do not hold their personnel responsible.”
Trans policy, masks and climate change
Heffron is in her second term on the Chesterfield County School Board after being elected in 2019 and winning reelection in 2023. She served as the board’s chair in 2024 and vice chair in 2022 and 2020.
Her time on the board has included decisions on hot-button issues. Last December, the school board passed a revised policy on the treatment of transgender students with a 3-2 vote, with Heffron among the three to OK the changes.
The revisions were criticized by people on multiple sides. Some said that requiring students to get parental approval to use a different name or pronouns at school would essentially require them to out themselves.
Others felt that the revisions were not restrictive enough in terms of bathroom usage and sports participation by transgender students.
In January 2022, the school board voted 3-2 to allow parents the choice of whether to have their children wear masks in school.
Heffron voted against the measure, saying her constituents preferred the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation of students and staff wearing masks in school.
In 2023, Heffron wrote a column in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about CCPS leading the fight against climate change.
Special election
The Chesterfield County School Board said it will begin the process of appointing an interim representative to fill Heffron’s spot until a special election can be held. The winner of the special election would serve out the rest of Heffron’s term, which runs through Dec. 31, 2027.
Depending on the special election result, the political leanings of the school board could remain about the same or sway further conservative.
While school board races in Virginia are nonpartisan, the Virginia Public Access Project showed that Heffron and Chatters received donations from Democratic groups leading up to the 2023 election, while Coker, Hudgins and Paranto received donations from Republican groups.