CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The Albemarle County Republican Committee is calling on former Albemarle County Schools Superintendent Matt Haas to “donate his severance pay to an ACPS Student Recovery and Victim Support Fund for elementary students and families affected by the criminal case involving former ACPS employee Michael Swiney,” according to a statement from Chair Phil Riese.

“I’m certainly glad that he has officially tendered his resignation, I think that’s good news,” Riese told Cville Right Now. “I think that’s the first step.”

ACRC is asking the Albemarle County School Board to support this dedicated student fund so children affected by the sexual abuse allegations can receive the help they need and deserve, the release stated.

“I do think it is quite outrageous we are paying him over a quarter-million dollars a year for the next year for him not doing any work, and as chairman of the Republican committee I do call on Matt Haas to give that money to what we’re calling a victim support fund,” Riese said. “I think the school board needs to create a victim support fund for any children, any students, who were allegedly abused by Michael Swiney and I think this would be a good faith, this would show that Matt Haas is putting the students first before his own personal financial well-being.”

Haas finalized his resignation on Saturday after being asked to step down by the School Board in the wake of the arrest of staffer Michael Swiney. Swiney, a social-emotional learning coach at Hollymead Elementary School, was arrested and charged with 11 felonies related to sexual crimes against children.

“I have two children who went to Hollymead Elementary, and my youngest child will enter kindergarten at Hollymead next year,” Riese said. “Parents send their children to school trusting that basic safeguards are in place. Matt Haas should not walk away with a big payday while parents are left asking why stronger child-protection policies were not put in place sooner.”

Riese ACPS does not appear to have issued a clear, division wide policy restricting one-on-one, closed-door meetings between elementary students and staff. According to the Hollymead website, the school allowed licensed counselors to meet one on one with students, but did not require social-emotional learning coaches to be licensed counselors.

“What they should have done is started writing policy to formalize a requirement that puts certain guidelines on when a faculty member can meet one-on-one with an elementary student with the doors closed,” he said.

Riese thinks that work should have started in January, when ACPS first became aware of the investigation into Swiney.

“There should be a written rule when there are certain times a faculty member should be one-on-one with a student, maybe that’s a nurse, maybe there’s special circumstances when that should be allowed,” Riese said. “But it shouldn’t be the norm and it sounds like it was the norm allegedly with Michael Swiney.”

He said Haas’s resignation is the first step among multiple steps that need to be taken, and the school board should work now toward a policy if it hasn’t started already.

“For too long, ACPS has hidden behind personnel confidentiality in a way that leaves parents in the dark,” Riese said. “Parents do not need private personnel files of ACPS employees. But when an employee violates policy, when children may have been placed at risk, or when serious allegations arise inside a school, parents deserve timely, honest, and useful information. Silence protects the system. Openness protects children.”

As for usage of such a fund, Riese said, “Maybe it’s for counseling, and it doesn’t necessarily have to counseling from within the school system, and the schools should be paying for outside counselors to allow the parents to go to whatever counselor that they want.”

“It really should just be somewhat open-ended,” Riese said. “If my child was abused, I would really like to be looking at all the options and I think this might cost county taxpayers a lot of money. They really need to start funding a victim support fund, and I think it should start with Matt Haas’s salary for the next year.

“I know he’s no longer the superintendent, but I think he can show good faith that he’s putting the students first.”