On Friday April 15, 2016, parents and students of Landstown High School received a call stating that the school will undergo a “short administrative change.” Dr. Brian Matney has been placed on administrative leave for a reason that even he himself has no knowledge to what it could have been. The only information given to the public, as well as Dr. Matney, is that he is under investigation because of safety issues complaints made by Landstown faculty and that this is not a criminal case.  Dr. Matney was stripped from his job, asked to turn in his badge and keys, and banned from all VBCPS grounds—  even to watch his son, a senior at Kempsville High School, play baseball.

 Dr. Brian Matney is a product of the Virginia Beach Public School System and has devoted his life to this public education system. He was a former teacher at Green Run High school as well as a former principal at Lynnhaven Middle School and Cox High School before becoming principal at Landstown High School. Since his arrival at Landstown in 2012, he has led the school with kindness, encouragement, and left every student feeling valued. Kaiila McEntee, a senior at Landstown said, “He is the glue that holds our school together.”

Many students have been showing their support for Dr. Matney through social media by posting messages saying: “He has made Landstown a home for so many people,” and “Dr. Matney motivated, encouraged, and inspired Landstown.”

As an educator that has changed the lives of many students, it is heartless and unjust for him to be stripped from his position without any reasoning. To go as far as having his name and picture taken down from both the school and VBCPS website proves that the system wants to pretend as if he had never existed or made a mark on the lives of his students.

Dr. Brian Matney engrained the concept of “UNITY” into his schools. Let’s UNITE as one to help bring back a great man. Please sign the pledge to show support for Dr. Matney, to get answers, and to bring him back home to Landstown High School.