York School Members Hash it Out with Former Chair Lynda J. Fairman

Special Session Names Ousted Chair for First Time

Mar 11, 2025

The final step in the York County School Board’s public reprimand of District 5 member Lynda J. Fairman took place Monday night at a special meeting, where board members publicly called her out for violating board rules and violating the superintendent’s contract.

During a tense discussion lasting less than 30 minutes, board members told Fairman she had disrupted the board’s functions by acting unilaterally and going around Superintendent Victor D. Shandor, who has publicly sparred with Fairman at several board meetings.

Fairman’s punishment was already well known, but Monday night was the first time she was publicly named by the board. Fairman, who was voted out as chair of the board last May, was stripped of her committee assignments and had her access badge de-activated by the board in January.

She was not publicly named at the time, although she publicly acknowledged she was the board member being disciplined.

Monday’s special meeting, called into session after a regular work meeting during which votes are not held, allowed board members to vote to complete the lengthy discipline process and publicly chastise Fairman. They told her she had violated the norms and protocols approved at a board retreat last August, which require board members to avoid interference with the day-to-day operations of the schools, respect confidential information and avoid speaking on behalf of the entire board without its consent.

“Majority does rule and…we have to stand behind it,” said District 2 member Zoran Pajevic. Pajevic, Chair Kimberly S. Goodwin and Fairman were all newcomers to the board and received backing from Republicans when they were elected last year.

“When you came on this board….you had a personal vendetta, you had a political agenda,” District 1 member Mark J. Shafer said. “This is one of the top performing school divisions in this state, and everything you’ve brought on has created confusion and chaos”

Freeman said she was being deprived of her first amendment rights, adding Attorney General Jason Miyares had signed an opinion that she was improperly removed from her chair post. That letter was not made public.

“He didn’t hear the whole (story) of the issues we were having with the chair at the time,” said Vice Chair James E. Richardson “If he had heard that I bet his opinion would have been much different”

“The Virginia Code….does not outline well what if you have a board member who’s doing some egregious thing?” Goodwin added. “Are you just supposed to sit there and say OK, continue on and watch your division fall apart?”

Superintendent Victor D. Shandor, Board Chair Kimberly S. Goodwin

Goodwin ticked off four incidents that led to this point:

1. In September she said Fairman made a Facebook post “that was derogatory in nature towards the superintendent” and received a warning letter.

2. On October 31 Fairman emailed Shandor saying local legislators and U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman (R-1st District) should be invited to a ceremony celebrating the school system’s excellence award from the U.S. Department of Education at Bethel Manor Elementary School. Shandor responded that same day declining to invite them because it was a school wide celebration, not a state event. And because all the legislators were Republican, he said it could be seen as a partisan move that would turn the school celebration into a photo opportunity “for political gain,” Goodwin said.

3. On January 13, during the board’s organizational meeting, Fairman introduced a three-page opinion letter from the Attorney General’s office stating her removal from the chair violated her term. The action disrupted the meeting and placed the board in potential violation of the state Freedom of Information Act, Goodwin said, because it had not been included as an agenda item beforehand.

4. The fourth violation occurred at the board’s regular January 27 meeting, when Fairman announced she’d heard from some teachers who voted for Donald Trump and were worried they might be targeted by members of the teachers’ union who opposed him. She also said parents had complained their children heard anti-Trump statements in the classroom. Goodwin said this violated the superintendent’s contract because the board must immediately refer complaints and suggestions to him.

“By not sharing this information with the superintendent the board could now face potential litigation” that could result in substantial legal fees and payment of damages to the superintendent, Goodwin said.

When people think of free community healthcare clinics, an operation with the scope and scale of Lackey Clinic probably doesn’t jump to mind.

Lackey Clinic, which celebrates its 30^th anniversary April 20, provides free health care to 2,000 residents of the Historic Triangle who cannot afford health insurance. It has grown exponentially since a husband-and-wife team founded it in a Sunday school room at Rising Sun Baptist Church on April 20, 1995.

The clinic offers patients everything from primary care to free brand name prescriptions, dental care, vision care, and specialized services at participating hospitals. It opened one of Virginia’s first free chronic-care clinics for patients with diabetes, hypertension, asthma and other ongoing conditions.

It is also reaching out to patients throughout the state with cutting edge programs such as Lackey Virtual Care, a telehealth service that has handled 1,700 people since February 2024. Lackey Clinic also launched a text-based program affectionately known as Flo that reminds patients to take their meds, check their blood pressure, and follow good eating habits.

Dr. Jim Shaw and his wife Cooka founded Lackey as a faith-based mission to serve the working poor. When they began at the church, they offered a free clinic only one night a week in the church basement.

Free medicine, eye and dental care are offered to clinic patients. CEO Larry Trumbore and Medical Director Dr. Jill Cottel

Then York County allowed the program to operate out of Charles Brown Community Center, and a steady stream of new patients and volunteers followed.

By 2003, Lackey opened the doors to its current building, which has continued to expand in size and services. Today it is a 10,000 square foot medical facility with more than 30 staff and hundreds of volunteers.

Jim Shaw died in the summer of 2015 after a long-time battle with multiple myeloma, just weeks after celebrating his 50^th wedding anniversary and the clinic’s 20^th anniversary.

Lackey Clinic currently serves about 2,000 patients a month, and has a waiting list, said Larry M. Trumbore Jr., its CEO. That is where its new technology-based remote services can add coverage.

While it bills itself as a faith-based organization and requires statements of faith from its employees and board members, the clinic does not consider a patient’s religion as a condition for treatment, Trumbore said.

Lackey Clinic does not accept medical insurance, offering services for free or for contributions. Its $2.7 million annual budget comes half from grants and half from donations, according to Trumbore.

The clinic then multiplies the reach of that budget by leveraging a variety of programs, including offering to serve as a test bed for new technology like the text based care system.

“We have charity care agreements with all the major hospital systems,” Trumbore said. The hospitals provide surgery, and diagnostic services like lab work and MRI’s.

Lackey Clinic also gives patients the latest in pharmaceuticals by leveraging the federal Patient Assistance Program, which requires pharmaceutical companies to donate a percentage of their patent-protected drugs to people below certain income levels.

“So we get over $9 million a year of name-brand drugs,” Trumbore said. “(Lackey patients) get the latest and greatest drugs, and some of them are very expensive.”

Williamsburg-James City County School Board Chair Sarah Ortego Gets Election Challenger

Stephen “Ty” Hodges, a 33-year old former newsman, announced he will run for the Jamestown seat of Williamsburg-James City County school board chair Sarah G. Ortego in November.

Hodges, who moved to James City County nearly a decade ago to serve as a reporter for the Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily, is a multimedia specialist. He and wife Jessica have a daughter, Nelly.

Hodges said he would fight to add resources to the schools, including raising teacher pay, hiring more assistants and staff and making sure school facilities are maintained and upgraded.

This Week’s Government Meetings

Williamsburg/James City County School officials meet with the city and county’s elected officials to present their new budget — along with a request for local taxpayers to increase their contribution by nearly 13 percent. The meeting starts Friday morning at 8:30 at Legacy Hall, 4301 New Town Avenue.

Other meetings this week include:

York County

March 12: Planning Commission. York Hall, 301 Main Street. 7 p.m.

Williamsburg City

March 12: Economic Development Authority. Stryker Center, 412 N. Boundary St., Room 127. 3 p.m.

March 13: City Council. Stryker Center 412 N. Boundary Street. 2 p.m.