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Powhatan parents and students urge reinstatement of theater director after school removes him
Summary
Dozens of students, parents and alumni urged the Powhatan County School Board to reinstate theater director Bilal (Bilal) Roshuni during the public comment period, presenting a petition with hundreds of signatures and crediting the director with scholarships and student success.
Dozens of Powhatan students, parents and alumni used the meeting’s public-comment period to urge the Powhatan County School Board to reinstate Bilal Roshuni as director of the high-school theater program and to express concern about the administration’s handling of his removal.
Students described Roshuni as a mentor who built community, increased student confidence and helped produce a recent Hadestown Teen Edition musical that resulted in scholarship offers for several students. Parents and alumni told the board the production was approved in advance by school administrators and that the administration had opportunities to review scripts and rehearsals before the season.
Speakers recounted that the show generated roughly $60,000 in scholarship offers for students after a performing-arts scout attended a production. Students and parents said the program offered technical and artistic opportunities — including a functioning turntable set and expanded crew roles — that broadened participation and classroom learning.
Multiple students and recent graduates described how Roshuni’s direction changed academic and career paths, with one student saying theater “gave me a role, a voice, and a place in something bigger than myself.” Parents described their children’s gains in confidence and called his dismissal a loss for Powhatan’s arts offerings.
Parents and students also said they had organized a petition with more than 600 signatures and urged the school board to review the dismissal, reinstate Roshuni or ensure a qualified replacement and continuity for the program. Several speakers asked for clarity on who in the school administration approved the play and why the director was removed after the school had funded and supported the production.
The board did not take formal action on personnel during the meeting. The public-comment speakers requested a prompt administrative update on the theater program’s leadership and any personnel review; board members asked administrators for follow-up information.
Theater supporters emphasized the value of curricular and extracurricular arts education for social-emotional learning, college opportunities and career pathways. They urged the board to prioritize student access to performing arts programs in any personnel or policy decisions.
