Tuesday’s meeting of the Mathews County School Board included a pair of presentations—a Virginia High School League (VHSL) award to a Mathews High School employee for two decades of service to the school’s athletic program, and a $5,000 grant from the Mathews Community Foundation for the high school’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program.

But what dominated much of the meeting was a nearly two-hour closed session, after which school board members voted against a staff recommendation to long-term suspend a student for the remainder of the 2016-2017 school year.

While details of the disciplinary matter were not discussed in open session, the school board’s decision was greeted by a rousing round of applause from high school students and parents who filled the MHS media center.

Also following the closed session, the school board approved a number of personnel actions, including accepting the resignation of Robert Thomas as Mathews High School...