Schools

E-Mailing Between School Officials in Question

FCPS officials, board members testify in lawsuit that alleges they violated FOIA laws

Members of the Fairfax County School Board who e-mailed each other last summer prior to a vote to close The Clifton School held “no secret meetings,” their attorneys asserted in their defense in court today.

The claim was a response to a lawsuit from Fairfax County resident Jill Hill of Clifton, who is accusing the board of meeting in secret via e-mail, which she contends is a violation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and open meetings laws. The lawsuit, she said, is about the process that went into the decision to close the school last summer. FCPS attorneys pointed out that the endgame for Hill is to turn back the clock for a new vote.

Hill’s 40-page lawsuit “makes dramatic claims with no merit,” said Thomas J. Cawley, a partner at Hunton & Williams in McLean who is representing Fairfax County Public Schools and the school board.

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The claims include:

  • A report on water wells at the school was suppressed before the vote.
  • School board members held a meeting while riding a bus to Clifton School for a site visit.
  • FCPS dragged its feet to hand over documents (e-mails) requested by Hill
  • “Secret meetings” were held between board members

At the daylong evidentiary hearing before Judge Leslie Alden in Fairfax County Circuit Court, lawyers for Hill called school board member Elizabeth Bradsher as their first witness. The bailiff stepped outside of Courtroom 5A to call for Bradsher, who sat with five fellow school board members and four school officials who were all subpoenaed. They waited outside the courtroom from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. reading books, catching up on paperwork and talking quietly with one another.

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For nearly an hour and 30 minutes, Hill’s attorney T. Michael Guiffre, of Patton Boggs in Washington, D.C., questioned Bradsher about various e-mails she sent and received prior to the vote. The vote to close the school due to what board members said was a declining student body, expensive renovations and other reasons “was a tough decision for me personally,” said Bradsher, from the witness stand.

Guiffre asked her about e-mails she and other board members sent to each other prior to the vote to close the school.

“Do you ever discuss business with other school board members by e-mail?”

“I’m not allowed to discuss business with two or more board members at the same time,” Bradsher said. “I can do that, but not have a conversation.”

“You mean like what we’re having right now?” Guiffre said.

“I don’t think this is a conversation,” the judge pointed out to muffled laughter from observers in the courtroom.

“Is it possible to have a conversation by e-mail?” Guiffre continued.

“No,” Bradsher responded, adding she is careful not to have a “chat-room or IM” conversation with other board members. “That could be called an online meeting.”

“Why are you careful about it?” Guiffre asked.

“Because of the sunshine laws,” Bradsher said, referring to FOIA and open meetings laws.

 Throughout the day, attorneys discussed the differences between e-mailing, IMing and texting, stating that “sharing information” via e-mail before, during or after meetings was different than a “real-time, instantaneous” conversation. Another point made was the difference between sending an e-mail to one person versus a group.

The last witness of the day was Claudia Reyes, a paralegal with the Office of Division Counsel, Fairfax County Public Schools, who said 117 hours were spent researching, reviewing, identifying exempt e-mails and “redacting” e-mails requested by Hill.

Attorneys for Fairfax County Public Schools rested their case by 5 p.m., stating that the court should reject "this second bite at the apple to undo the school board's decision to close Clifton."

The hearing resumed this morning at 9:30 with a final summation from Hill's attorneys.


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