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“Forcing anyone to go through FOIA to get what is the most basic government information — how the money is going to be received and spent — seems tone deaf.”
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The Richmond School Board has approved a budget for next school year that calls for the elimination of 49 central office positions — roles that have yet to be made public. A divided board on Monday signed off on Superintendent Jason Kamras’ budget proposal, which now heads to the City Council and Mayor Levar Stoney. Kenya Gibson of the 3rd District, Patrick Sapini of the 5th District and Felicia Cosby of the 6th District voted against the budget. “I don’t know what we are voting for and this is of grave concern for me,” Gibson said before the vote, citing a lack of clarity over the positions being cut and the documents provided by the administration. Monday’s vote capped a monthlong process of discussion and debate over the school system’s finances, some of which happened behind closed doors. The district has yet to reveal the positions on the chopping block, something Kamras said it would do by April 1. An effort to make the positions public failed on a 5-4 vote at the board’s meeting last week, when it also delayed a budget vote because of technical difficulties. Board members have been privy to information on job cuts, including in an extended version of the budget that has not been published widely, but community members and employees are still in the dark over whose jobs are on the line.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The details of a budget already approved by the Richmond School Board are still not public, an apparent violation of state open records law and the district’s own written policy. It’s a move that has sparked concern from community members, some members of the nine-person elected board and an open government advocate. The board published a 31-page budget summary before its Monday night vote, a document that details the amount it will bring in but offers little detail about how that money will be spent. What it’s hiding is a 228-page budget filled with specific information on positions and programs that it was given by the city school system’s administration last week, a document it voted on — and approved in a 6-3 vote — Monday. After asking for a copy of the larger budget because the board had discussed it in open session, a Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter was told by the School Board clerk and the superintendent’s chief of staff to file a Freedom of Information Act request. That request was filed Monday night and acknowledged — but not fulfilled — on Tuesday. “Forcing anyone to go through FOIA to get what is the most basic government information — how the money is going to be received and spent — seems tone deaf,” Rhyne said.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The terms of the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority’s longest-standing board members will expire at the end of this month. The seats belong to Ron Llewellyn, who was appointed in 2011, and Greg Drescher, who was appointed in 2005. Both said after the EDA’s Friday meeting that they would like to continue serving. Board of Supervisors Clerk Emily Mounce stated in an email that the county has received 10 applications. County Attorney Dan Whitten explained that if the county does not appoint new members or reappoint Drescher and Llewellyn, the two will remain on the board until an appointment is made. The candidates will not be revealed, as the county cites the Freedom of Information Act’s personnel exemption as the reason to keep this information confidential. The supervisors at their regular meeting last week entered a closed session to discuss the EDA appointments. Earlier in that meeting, during the public comment period, Fern Vazquez questioned the county’s transparency regarding how a board member is selected. She said: “It’s unclear to me what guidelines are followed” in selecting board members and how candidates are vetted. Vazquez said lacking transparency has “created a credibility and trust gap between” supervisors and citizens.
The Northern Virginia Daily
Agencies who fail to retain public records and vote in closed door meetings without counsel present could face penalties under a new law pending Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s sign-off. Senate Bill 1554, authored by Senator Scott Surovell (D – Fairfax), would penalize records officers or public bodies for destroying or altering records as a way to avoid disclosure under the state’s FOIA law as well as local leaders who decide on law in closed session meetings without counsel. “The closed meeting rules are violated monthly, even last week, and I decided it was time to create some consequences to hopefully reduce violations,” said Surovell. “Virginia’s FOIA lacked meaningful consequences for breaking the law.”
MuckRock
The Chesterfield County School Board approved a spending plan Tuesday night that includes the same $672.2 million operating budget that Superintendent Merv Daugherty laid out in his original spending plan in January. School Board Chairman Rob Thompson said at Tuesday’s meeting that the timing of this year’s General Assembly budget passage has left the locality without a clear sense of how much state money the school system will get. Daugherty’s memo on the budget and a staff presentation about the spending plan were posted online just before 3 p.m. on Tuesday — less than four hours before the board was to meet to vote on the budget and members of the public were provided the opportunity to weigh in.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Lawmakers are pushing to have subcommittee meetings recorded in next year’s General Assembly session. All House and Senate floor sessions and committee meetings are currently videotaped and posted online daily for anyone who wants to catch up on discussions about why any particular piece of legislation might have failed or advanced. “We do that for committees. We don’t do that for subcommittees, and we should,” said Democratic Delegate Mark Levine. He’s partnered with Republican Senator Amanda Chase to round up a list of lawmaker signatures – over two-thirds from both the House and Senate – who support the effort. “We think there needs to be more sunshine, if you will, shed in both houses, especially in the House side,” Chase said. And, Chase says, she’s heard from constituents who want more transparency, too.
WCVE
A bipartisan group of Virginia lawmakers is demanding that the General Assembly record and archive its subcommittee meetings — a critical part of the legislative process and the only proceedings not yet video-recorded by the state. The demand was contained in a letter drafted by Del. Mark Levine, D-Alexandria, and Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, co-founders of the Virginia Transparency Caucus. It was signed by 68 of the 100 members of the Virginia House of Delegates and 29 of the 40 state senators. Virginia has been slower than other states to pull back the curtain on the legislative process. Floor sessions of the House and Senate were not archived until 2017. Committee hearings were not livestreamed and archived by the General Assembly until the Transparency Caucus pushed for that after the 2018 session. Virginia became the 42nd state to record such meetings.
The Virginian-Pilot
The town of Vienna long has posted video recordings of Town Council and Planning Commission meetings, but those who wished to review less-formal work sessions of those bodies were out of luck. That has changed recently, as the town has begun posting on the Web audio recordings of meetings and work sessions of those bodies within 48 hours, said town spokesman Lynne Coan. Coan said she did not know if recordings would be made of all the town’s boards and commission meetings and work sessions, but said the policy applies to major bodies such as the Town Council, Planning Commission and Board of Architectural Review.
InsideNoVa
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