Transparency News, 10/18/21

Big-league political influencer Dominion Energy donated $200,000 to a secretive PAC attacking GOP gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin, a new filing shows. The money from Dominion’s PAC went to Accountability Virginia PAC in Washington, according to a public filing this weekend by Dominion with the Virginia Department of Elections. The political news outlet Axios reported in late September that the Accountability Virginia operation has ties to Democratic activists and is funding an ad campaign in which the Democrats pose as conservatives “to drive a wedge between the Republican candidate for Virginia governor and his core voters.” The ads on Facebook, Instagram, Google and Snapchat target rural areas of the state that support Youngkin, and the ads question his commitment to the Second Amendment, Axios reported. Dominion spokesman Rayhan Daudani said by email: “There is nothing secretive about any of our company’s political donations. They are disclosed monthly on the company website. We give in a bipartisan, transparent manner as our voluntary disclosures demonstrate and will continue to do so.”
Richmond Times-Dispatch

A Loudoun school board member facing a recall campaign led by a conservative parent group has resigned. Beth Barts, who served as a representative of the Leesburg district, wrote in a Facebook post Friday that she made the decision after a lot of thought. She called it “the right decision for me and my family.” She titled the post, “Taking back my life,” and added a red heart emoji. Ian Prior, a former Trump administration official said in a statement Friday that Barts had “done the right thing,” but warned that his group will continue to target other board members. The official reason for the recalls is an alleged violation of Virginia open meetings laws. But Fight for Schools has also been public about its displeasure with board members’ handling of pandemic-era education and their support for diversity and inclusion measures. Barts’ tenure on the board was somewhat checkered. Apart from the allegations from Fight for Schools, she faced censure from her colleagues. The board voted first to reprimand, then to formally censure Barts — and finally to remove her from school committees — for violating school board rules during some of her interactions with county residents and through her posts on social media. 
The Washington Post

Julia Perkins has resigned from Isle of Wight County’s School Board. School Board Chairwoman Jackie Carr read Perkins’ resignation letter into the record of the Board’s Oct. 14 meeting. Perkins herself was absent from the meeting. Opponents of Isle of Wight County Schools’ equity and inclusion initiatives began trying to oust Perkins from her School Board seat in July. Candice Vande Brake, a parent who’s repeatedly argued at recent School Board meetings that the equity push and Critical Race Theory are one and the same, started an online recall petition that month accusing Perkins of “failing her district’s children,” for not questioning and objecting to the equity programs. The Associated Press reports a growing number of school board members nationwide have recently resigned in the wake of vitriol at meetings over how racial issues are taught, though the statement Carr read on Perkins’ behalf made no mention of the criticisms she’s faced at recent meetings playing a role in her decision to resign mid-term.
The Smithfield Times

Virginia Beach has joined school boards in at least four other states in the debate over what books should be allowed in school libraries. Amid the outcry against teaching critical race theory, Virginia Beach is one of the latest divisions to join the debate over which books students should have access to in school libraries. School board members challenged six books earlier this month, citing what they called sexually explicit and divisive language. This kind of argument isn’t new — those who track the debates over books say they first happened decades ago. But in some recent cases, challenges seemingly focus on literature highlighting experiences among people from marginalized communities. Each challenge in Virginia Beach lies within a sliver of the books’ pages — critics of the books call that more than enough to worry about; others say that approach, doesn’t take into account their educational value as a whole. “I’m not saying, ‘Burn (the books),’” Amy Solares, a Virginia Beach parent, said at the Tuesday meeting. “I’m saying: Get them out of our public school libraries.”
The Virginian-Pilot

The recommended effective date in which the city of Martinsville will forfeit its independent status and become a town in Henry County will be July 1, 2023, if a three-judge panel approves the recommendation of the Commission on Local Government (COLG). Martinsville asked for reversion to take place as early as next year, while Henry County argued a date no sooner than 2024 was needed to allow for an orderly transition of courts, jails, schools and tax records. “In the next steps, the local governing bodies will adopt the report, either the original or a version amended by both parties, and may require additional review,” said COLG Director David Conmy. “Also a public hearing will be held and then a local circuit court judge will request a three-judge panel [be established] with the commission’s report submitted as evidence.”
Martinsville Bulletin

Longtime attorney for the Town of Amherst, Tom Berry, will no longer serve in the role when his contract with the town ends Dec. 31, according to a recent council vote. Amherst Town Council voted 1-4 on a motion at its Sept. 8 meeting to extend Berry’s contract through Dec. 31, 2022. The failed vote, with Councilman Ken Watts the lone member supporting it, followed a closed session in which council discussed Berry’s performance review. Council did not give reasons for Berry’s imminent departure after returning to open session Sept. 8. “You know, I thought about this very carefully and I anticipated not being [given a contract extension],” Berry said during the meeting. “The knock on it was not being as responsive to council as much as council wanted me to be responsive to. If that’s the problem, then I’m sorry I didn’t correct that.”
The News & Advance
 

“Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said last week in announcing the U.S. Department of Justice would begin investigating threats against school board members, teachers and other school personnel. “Those who dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that our children receive a proper education in a safe environment deserve to be able to do their work without fear for their safety.” Garland is absolutely right. School officials should expect to go to work each day without fearing for their safety. Right now, though, school board members and other school employees in some states are receiving threats from constituents who don’t agree with mask mandates for children. Threats of any type simply are unacceptable and, when they happen, should be investigated and prosecuted. But authorizing the full force and authority of the federal government to do so? That’s simply the wrong approach.
Daily News Record