When the Norfolk School Board abruptly fired Superintendent Sharon I. Byrdsong last month, it was the final act in a years-long campaign against her by a faction of the board that opposed her even before she was considered for the position.
In February 2020, the board voted 4-3 to hire Byrdsong after scrapping the search process to consider her. At the time, she was serving as interim superintendent.
Byrdsong had not applied for the position and that was because of a phone call with former school board member Rodney Jordan, former school board chair Dr. Noelle Gabriel wrote in an email to board members obtained through a public records request…