Suspended principal reassigned to a different school in Cumberland County
The Fayetteville Observer reports a Cumberland County principal who was suspended in May during an investigation into an undisclosed matter has been reassigned to a different school.
Principal John Royvell Godbolt will serve as the new principal at Spring Lake Middle School, a news release stated after Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting.
Godbolt, who was principal at Terry Sanford High School, was suspended May 1 along with Assistant Principal Quantisha Spencer, "pending the outcome of the district's investigation," a May 12 news release stated.
The results of the investigation are considered "a confidential personnel matter and cannot be shared," district spokesman Lindsay Whitley said.
Parents were notified about the suspensions in May through a robo-call.
WRAL News talked with school administrators who say the investigation is not criminal – but enough to take them off the job and out of the school.
The Cumberland County School system confirmed to WRAL News in May that Goldbolt and Spencer were suspended with pay.
Godbolt was named principal at Terry Sanford in July of 2022. He served as an assistant principal at the school for five years. Spencer was appointed assistant principal in August of 2022. Before that, she was interim principal at Mac Williams Middle School.
School administrators will not confirm the exact nature of that investigation, but they have told WRAL News they center around accusations of personal misconduct in the school and around the campus.
School administrators say they take allegations of this nature seriously. They provided a statement which says in part:
“Both parties have been suspended with pay, effective May 1, pending the outcome of the district's investigation. Rhonda Hill, a retired educator with a wealth of experience in school leadership, has agreed to serve as the interim principal at the school until further notice.”
The statement went on to say Hill will be assisted by Tom Hatch, the former principal of Terry Sanford High School, as well as other district administrators.
WRAL News is told that Superintendent Marvin Connelly will probably brief the Board of Education about the outcome of the investigation sometime next week.
