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Richardson is leaving the district, and the Board of Education announced that Assistant Principal Joseph Starvaggi would take over on as principal an interim basis on Tuesday. Camille Edwards-Thomas has been named as Starvaggi’s replacement.
Last month, Richardson announced his resignation, effective Aug. 20, stating his intentions to join the New York City Department of Education. A day after he tendered his resignation, that DOE offer was rescinded, and Richardson attempted to backtrack his resignation from New Rochelle.
The announcement that Richardson would be stepping down came during a busy Board of Education meeting on Tuesday that was heavily attended. At the meeting, Board President Jeffrey Hastie refused to comment about whether Richardson was being bought out following his resignation.
“After much soul searching, prayer and discussions with my family, I have decided to step down as Principal of New Rochelle High school and request that the Board of Education accepts my resignation,” Richardson wrote in a letter to the community. “I believe that the students and staff deserve to start the school year free of distractions and focused solely on learning.”
The rescinded offer came following a rough academic year in New Rochelle, which saw several stabbing incidents at the high school, including the fatal incident involving 16-year-old Valaree Schwab. He also reportedly has come under fire for slashing suspensions and suspicious “perfect scores” for students taking online classes whose work was incomplete.
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