The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
A judge postponed a decision Thursday to force the School Board to open records from an investigation into testing problems at Lafayette-Winona Middle School.
Under the state's Freedom of Information Act, The Virginian-Pilot is seeking documents compiled by a three-member panel into irregularities at the middle school during the 2008-09 school year. The division has denied access to several hundred pages of correspondence, notes and transcripts since March, citing legal exemptions for personnel records, student information and privileged communication with lawyers. The newspaper sued the School Board in April.
After a three-hour hearing, Circuit Judge Norman A. Thomas ordered attorneys to file written arguments. The sides are expected back in court in July.
The newspaper obtained a copy of the panel's 73-page report and an eight -page executive summary, which were introduced into the court record Thursday.
Stan Barnhill, attorney for the newspaper, said the school division assured the public it wanted accountability but has refused to turn over the information.
Wayne Ringer, the chief deputy city attorney representing the School Board, said the investigation was a personnel matter and shielded from public disclosure. At least one employee mentioned in the report is appealing an administrative action taken as a result of the investigation, according to testimony.
The report details how a middle school principal coerced teachers into fabricating students' work to help win state accreditation. The principal tried to fire a teacher who refused to cheat and reported testing problems to the state, according to the report.
Superintendent Stephen C. Jones testified that the eight-page executive summary was a "draft," although a copy provided to the newspaper did not indicate it was unfinished. Jones said it was rewritten into a more accurate two-page account after consultation with the School Board.
In an interview after the hearing, Jones refused to say which parts of the original summary were inaccurate.
Denis Finley, editor of The Virginian-Pilot, said the newspaper cannot allow public institutions to hide behind a cloak of secrecy.
"Taxpayers in Norfolk have a right to know how the schools are being run and what is being done to correct any wrongdoing," he said.
Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2341, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com
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They are bidding their time
NPS is bidding its time so that the administrators who encouraged cheating and fraud have enough time to use their golden parachutes as they jump into retirement off of the school administration buliding downtown. Meanwhile, the school board sits in frustration with their hands tied and Council watches the show from their Ivory tower.
This is taxpayer fraud, plain and simple. When a child is in 10th grade with a 3rd grade reading level but his "report cards" show that the same child was on the honor roll during elementary school and a "solid c student" in middle school. That is criminal.
When administrators knowingly foster an environment where educators who have standards are demoted and pushed to the side while colleagues who "use strategies" (i.e. cheat)are promoted that my fellow citizens is criminal conspiracy.
The attorney general needs to take this issue up. We are talking massive fraud. The school system in Norfolk recieved $381,296,589 worth of tax payer money in 2009. Now they are spending more money to keep information out of the hands of the very people who pay the bill.
Enough is Enough!
Simply fade to the next I have to have you assignment.
Exactly what every citizen thought in Tidewater, Jones will retire on his own terms and will not stand in front of the Board or public that hired him to explain his actions. Simply fade to the next I have to have you assignment.
The really sad part of this ---
The Norfolk City Council GOVERNS THE NORFOLK PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD. They aren't opening their mouths on this. They aren't demanding responsible school leadership from the people they are suppose to be governing. They have the statutory authority to fire the school superintendent and they won't do it. That should tell you how much they care about your childrens education.
And yet...
And yet nothing changes. The same " leaders " still run things today. The lack of accountability in our public services in most cities in this area are pathetic.
Does anyone in local government assume responsibility for anything?
Everything staying the same...
The public had their chance two days ago to make changes, and evidently didn't care. I don't know about how parents are in other cities, but the apathy in Norfolk is horrible. We've got 3 girls in elementary school here, and can't believe how many parents just don't care what goes on with their own kids...much less city politics.
Just got my Norfolk property bill in the mail today
"The school division has denied access to several hundred pages of correspondence, notes and transcripts since March, citing legal exemptions for personnel records, student information and privileged communication with lawyers."
Just as Frank Batten did in the 1950's, the Virginian Pilot is confronting wrongs in society. In this case it's education in Norfolk schools.
The NPS lawyers, paid for by taxpayers, are using exemptions in the Virginia sunshine law to refuse release of those records.
This move is just a postponement of the inevitable forcing of the NPS public officials to divulge what is happening with our students.
I am angered over the Norfolk Public Schools obstructing legitimate relevant inquiries regarding school business.
Now it's public record. Good job Pilot lawyers.
Interesting timing huh?
If you don't like the exemptions...
call your General Assembly representatives, they are the ones who decided what records are exempt. They obviously are of the opinion that a public employee doesn't volunteer to have every detail of their work performance paraded in and judged by the court of public opinion, nor do they want your neighbor to have access to your child's school records. The FOIA exemptions are specific and narrowly construed, if there wasn't a strong basis for NPS' relying on them in this case they would have been laughed out of court today and the Pilot would be sending the taxpayers a hefty bill for its lawyer's services.
Here is the main point, again ar15755
"The FOIA exemptions are specific and narrowly construed"
I have no problems with the exceptions. They are legitimate.
It's how the exemptions are applied. Nobody knows unless you force them into court whether they are valid in any circumstance. We are going to find out in this instance though. It's vital to Norfolk students and parents to do so.
If you read the Pilot's reporting, you know what the issues are generally about in Norfolk.
Cheating is one of them. Cheating is not excluded in the law and it is of interest to the community if happening with tax dollars.
Do you want to know what is legitimately going on or will you continue to favor "opaqueness" in the Norfolk PUBLIC Schools?
I don't have a problem with
I don't have a problem with the Pilot investigating this issue, though I do have some issues with the sensational way they report on issues of City Government and Schools. The original title of this article was to the effect of "School Problems Become Public" which somebody apparently thought was not accurate or appropriate to the content of the article seeing as how it has changed. Based on my knowledge of FOIA, these materials will become releasable when the school board has taken whatever disciplinary actions it intends to take as a result of this incident and the employees have had their day in court. Until that time, the exemptions entitle those employees to some measure of privacy.