Board of Trustees Press Release
For Immediate Release- April 24, 2026
Statement from the Foundation for St. Margaret’s School Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees of the Foundation for St. Margaret’s School is disappointed by the Essex County Circuit Court's April 20 ruling that the plaintiffs do not have standing to sue Church Schools in the Diocese of Virginia (CSDV). However, we are grateful for Judge Martin's sympathetic recognition in his ruling that the school’s closure is “a great loss to its students, faculty and employees" and "will certainly have a negative impact on the Town of Tappahannock." While we respect the ruling, we believe the important legal question of standing warrants closer examination, and we are actively evaluating all options, including an appeal, to ensure our donors, alumnae, and students have their day in court.
Our lawsuit was brought on behalf of the constituents who gave specifically to St. Margaret's School over the last 100 years, not to CSDV. These donors deserved transparency. In early 2025, our Board of Governors raised $2.6 million, meeting the very threshold CSDV had set for keeping the school open. On February 5, 2025, CSDV confirmed the funds were secured and authorized enrollment and employment contracts for the following year. Only months later, CSDV reversed course and announced the school's closure.
For 104 years, St. Margaret's proudly offered an exceptional all-girls education. Our long-standing commitment has been to welcome and support all students, not just those from affluent backgrounds, while embracing learners with a wide range of needs. From all evidence, CSDV saw this support of higher-need students as a weakness. We see it as a true Christian calling. We are especially proud that in recent years, St. Margaret's welcomed refugee girls from Afghanistan and Ukraine on full scholarships. We accomplished all of this without diocesan subsidy. A diverse student body with financial need is not a liability—it is a testament to what St. Margaret's stands for, and what CSDV should stand for.
We are alarmed that the historic campus now sits idle and neglected while its fate rests in the hands of CSDV Board members, many of whom have never set foot in our community. Should CSDV move forward with a sale, critical questions demand answers: Who will purchase these Virginia landmarks and athletic fields woven into our neighborhoods, and for what purpose? For years, decisions affecting St. Margaret's have been made without meaningful input from or accountability to the people of Tappahannock, and CSDV's track record gives us little confidence that our community's interests will be protected.
We believe there is still a place for a safe, nurturing, all-girls school where every student's potential is cultivated. We will continue this fight not out of bitterness, but out of love for the school, this community, and the students and donors who gave St. Margaret's its soul.
For more information or to support the efforts to save St. Margaret’s School, please go to: www.smsontheriver.org or email info@smsontheriver.org.
