After two days of heated public meetings regarding the district’s handling of sexual assault allegations against a former elementary-school staff member, the Albemarle County School Board requested Superintendent Matthew Haas’ resignation on June 11.
Michael J. Swiney, 37, started as a social and emotional learning coach at Woodbrook Elementary School in December 2021. For unknown reasons, he was transferred to Hollymead Elementary School at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, where he worked until an investigation into his conduct began in January 2026.
Swiney is charged with seven counts of aggravated sexual battery, one count of attempted aggravated sexual battery, and four counts of indecent liberties. The earliest known alleged incident dates back to August 21, 2024, but it was not uncovered until this year. Swiney was indicted via grand jury on June 1, and turned himself in to Albemarle County Police on June 3.
ACPD released a public statement on Swiney’s arrest on June 4. This was how many Albemarle families learned of the months-long investigation into the staff member.
The final day of classes for ACPS students was May 29. ACPD says the indictment was not intentionally scheduled after the end of the school year.
“The moment allegations were brought to our attention, the employee was placed on leave, escorted from the building, and completely banned from all school properties and grounds, devices, and contact with students,” said Haas at the start of a June 10 community conversation at Hollymead Elementary.
A recording of the conversation is available on the district’s website. The video, which is unlisted on the ACPS YouTube page, and the accompanying FAQ from ACPS are difficult to locate on the district’s website without a direct link.
Parents, community members, staff, and teachers at the meeting expressed anger and frustration with the lack of accountability and answers from Haas and Hollymead Principal Joe McCauley, who has since been placed on administrative leave.
Haas could not answer many of the questions posed by attendees, frequently citing personnel record laws and concerns about compromising the investigation.
Many people expressed anger about the school district’s failure to notify parents of potentially affected students.
“We had an initial instinct to begin reaching out,” said Haas. “We did contact the police department and commonwealth’s attorney, and we agreed that the detective and that team would begin reaching out to parents with all the records that the school turned over as a part of the investigation.”
When an attendee asked how far into the list the detectives had gotten, a department representative did not give a direct answer, and instead said the list was received not “that long ago.”
Public Information Officer Logan Bogert confirmed via email that ACPS gave an initial list of students who had contact with Swiney to Albemarle County police on Monday, June 8—a week after the indictment and two days before the community conversation. Bogert confirmed that ACPD “has spoken to all of those families.”
ACPS did not respond to C-VILLE’s request for comment at press time.
Some parents allegedly voiced concerns about Swiney long before the investigation.
“How many other parents besides me said that Swiney was a predator and needed to be removed? … You told me I was overreacting. … I have the emails, we were complaining about Swiney from 2023 to 2025,” said one parent to McCauley. “Stop curating these ass answers and either tell the truth or cut this shit short.”
Other attendees also called on McCauley and Haas to be more transparent in their comments and “take accountability.” Anger and frustration simmered throughout the conversation, boiling over again when it was revealed that the district prepared no policy changes during the more than five-month-long period in which it knew about the investigation into Swiney.
“These allegations came about in January 2026 and he was put on leave. You all have had five months to figure out your plan and to have a plan,” said a parent who identified herself as Bridget Rogers. “What I’m hearing tonight is that you don’t know the policy and you don’t have a plan.”
“There was an accusation … you did nothing then,” said another parent from the audience. “You knew there was an accusation and you were like, ‘Oh, I don’t need to change policy or notify parents or anything, I’ll just sit here and wait.’”
There is a growing concern about undocumented meetings with Swiney. The list of documented interactions that the district sent to ACPD does not include any that occurred off the record. An update on ACPS’s website says the district now has permission from investigators to contact families, and administration is “contacting teachers to identify whether they are aware of students they sent to [Swiney] where there may not be a written record.”
Families and community members called on the school board to review and quickly amend existing policies regarding student and staff interactions and communication with guardians.
There is currently no explicit rule that prohibits ACPS staff from being alone with students behind closed doors. While parents are supposed to be notified when their child meets with a counselor or social and emotional learning coach, the staff member meeting with them is responsible for the notification. SEL coaches are responsible for keeping written records of their interactions with students.
“It does not appear that was done effectively in this case,” the district’s FAQ page reads.
Tension from the June 10 conversation carried into the next day’s school board meeting, which began in closed session. The board moved all agenda items, except the consent agenda, to a future session to allow more community members to speak. Rules requiring speakers to address the entire board, and refrain from directing comments at specific people or positions, nearly resulted in an attendee being ejected from the meeting.
At the end of public comment, the school board returned to closed session to discuss the investigation and the district’s response. After nearly an hour, the meeting reopened to the public for less than five minutes to announce the request for Haas to resign, and plans to review and amend policies in the coming weeks.
“This is a difficult moment for our school division and for our community,” the board said in a June 12 statement. “Our first responsibility is, and must always be, the safety, well-being, and trust of our students, families, staff, and schools. We recognize the pain, anger, fear, and frustration that many members of our community are experiencing, particularly in connection with recent events involving Hollymead and Woodbrook Elementary Schools.”
“We also recognize that words alone are not enough,” the statement continued. “The Board is committed to reviewing the concerns that have been raised, listening to families and staff, and ensuring that appropriate steps are taken to strengthen student safety, communication, and public trust.”
More information on ACPS’s response and next steps can be found at k12albemarle.org. The investigation into Swiney is ongoing, and detectives believe there may be more victims. Anyone with information should contact Detective Scott Godfrey at 296-5807.
