Langley superintendent was fired, trustee reveals

Langley school superintendent Cheryle Beaumont was fired, she didn’t leave voluntarily as suggested by the board of education in a news release this week, according to one trustee.

Alison Mcveigh said Beaumont was ousted by a slate of union- backed trustees after a 5- 2 vote during an in camera meeting earlier this month. She said she decided to break confidentiality rules surrounding in camera meetings because the truth needed to be told. “It’s not a decision I take lightly,” she said Wednesday, declining to reveal why trustees wanted rid of Beaumont. Board chairwoman Wendy Johnson refused to comment on Mcveigh’s statement. Earlier, she told a local newspaper that Beaumont’s departure was by mutual agreement.

Beaumont’s tenure was marked by controversy, including the discovery in 2009 that the district had a multimillion- dollar deficit, not a surplus as had been indicated. After that, the Langley Teachers’ Association began calling for her resignation.

But the board’s news release described Beaumont as “an outstanding superintendent who has provided strong leadership through difficult times and who has accomplished much during her tenure for the students of Langley.”

Mcveigh agreed.