The Alexandria School Board is reviewing its policies and regulations on telework and outside employment, as well as directing an external audit of the division, according to an Oct. 31 message sent to families and staff. The Board’s message followed the Times’ reporting on Oct. 29 that revealed Ayanna Harrison, the executive director of support operations for Alexandria City Public Schools, was also working as the full-time chief operating officer for a charter school system in Atlanta. The Board declined to comment on the “details” of the situation, citing its practice of not commenting publicly on individual personnel matters. The ACPS Board is planning to hire an independent external auditor to “audit the division’s processes and compliance practices with regard to non-ACPS employment and telework, with the goal of improving internal systems.” Alexandria Times
The King William County library system’s board of trustees plans to restrict those under 18 from accessing “sexually explicit” materials in the county’s libraries. The board voted 3-1 in favor of a “child protection policy” at its meeting on Oct. 21. The move comes almost four months after the county ended its contract with the Pamunkey Regional Library system and the for-profit Library Systems & Services (LS&S) took over the King William libraries. The new policy was not published in the board of trustees’ meeting agenda. The county released it last week following a Freedom of Information Act request, although LS&S wants to make more revisions, a county spokeswoman said. Board member Joy Washington raised a concern from a member of the public who was unable to see policy documents that the board would be voting on ahead of the meeting. Local government experts shared that concern. “The public is supposed to have access to copies of any materials the board members have been given. It’s supposed to be done at the same time,” said Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, in an email last week.
Gordonsville’s director of public works has come under fire after body-worn camera footage showing him berating a sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop made the rounds online. The footage from this past July shows an Orange County sheriff’s deputy pulling Vincent Seal over for texting while driving — something Seal readily admits to the deputy he was doing and court records show Seal has done before. The footage was shared with The Daily Progress by Gordonsville resident Tonya Short, who obtained it through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Documents to show the number of missing youth in care from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services still “have not been located.” The Center Square’s Freedom of Information Act request for the number of missing children from 2019 to 2025, filed on Oct. 21, still has not been fulfilled. The FOIA officer said “Once the documents are located, assuming they exist, the FOIA office will review and release records as appropriate.” The response comes despite state House candidate Bailey Templeton receiving a FOIA response in early October showing a nearly 1,000% increase in the number of missing children from 2023 to 2024 for a total of 166. A DCFS spokesperson told The Center Square that the previously released numbers were “not completely accurate.”
