RICHMOND 鈥 Former Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons, who abruptly resigned in March, is receiving more than $100,000 in severance payments from the state, according to information obtained from the governor鈥檚 office through a public records request.
Before Coons resigned as chief executive of the Virginia Department of Education on March 14, the department had , failed to publish for the new history standards that the department promised to teachers last year, and since Coons鈥 arrival two years ago.
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Coons did not disclose a reason for her departure in her resignation letter, saying she decided to pursue new professional opportunities.
The state is paying Coons about $21,888 per month for five months from April through August, totaling $109,438. The state also paid her about $10,102 for 80 hours of executive leave.
The office of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who appointed Coons, did not respond to requests for comment. Youngkin in March as the new state superintendent, the third person to hold the position under the Youngkin administration.
Coons鈥 predecessor as superintendent of public instruction, Jillian Balow, from the state after leaving her post in 2023. According to her contract, Balow was paid for another full year at the same salary that she earned as head of the education department: $266,213 in 24 semi-monthly settlement payments over the year following her departure.
The governor鈥檚 office in 2023 shared Balow鈥檚 severance terms in response to a public records request from the Richmond Times-Dispatch. But the governor鈥檚 office denied a nearly identical public records request from the newspaper two years later regarding Coons.
The governor鈥檚 office said it was entirely withholding a 10-page document regarding Coons鈥 severance, citing personnel information. The governor鈥檚 office fulfilled a subsequent public records request for the payments made to Coons related to the severance deal.
After Coons鈥 departure, the Office of the State Inspector General found that the Virginia Department of Education had failed to follow state procurement rules when it extended a major student assessment contract worth nearly $83 million, one of biggest and most politically sensitive contracts in state government. It includes work to develop, administer, score and report statewide students鈥 assessments, including the Standards of Learning tests.
The inspector general鈥檚 May report, which The Times-Dispatch obtained through a public records request, found that the state education department did not post a request for bids on contracts or extensions with the education company Pearson on the state鈥檚 online procurement system, which hid the details of the deal from public view and violated procurement rules.
State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, who chairs the Senate Education and Health Committee, called Coons鈥 severance deal outrageous.
鈥淯nder Superintendent Coons' leadership, the Virginia Department of Education missed several deadlines for reports to the legislature, left teachers without the full set of instructional guides necessary for the overhauled history standards, and faced considerable staffing turnover,鈥 said Hashmi, who is the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.
鈥淣ow we have learned that Virginia taxpayers have footed the bill for over $100,000 in salary payments to the former Superintendent after she resigned in March 2025. Equally outrageous is the additional $10,000 she received for 80 hours of 鈥楨xecutive Leave.鈥
"Most Virginians can only dream of such benefits. Taxpayers deserve transparency, accountability, and leadership from their public officials; we should not be in the business of handing out golden parachutes on the taxpayer's dime.鈥
Grace Creasey, president of the Virginia Board of Education, declined to comment on Coons鈥 severance package but said she is 鈥渋nfinitely grateful for the leadership we have now at VDOE.鈥
鈥淪uperintendent Gullickson is deeply supportive of the work of the board and has been a leader in driving innovative opportunities for students alongside school divisions and superintendents,鈥 Creasey said in a statement.
