CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The Albemarle County School Board thanked the county’s Board of Supervisors for its Thursday resolution regarding legal issues within the school division and requested the two bodies schedule a joint work session in November to further discuss the topic.
“The Board of Supervisors expressed their hope that the resolution would be received as an offer of support,” School Board Chair Dr. Rebecca Berlin wrote in a statement on behalf of the board Saturday. “We do receive it that way, and we accept that offer. The School Board and the Board of Supervisors serve the same families, and the work ahead calls for both bodies to work closely together on behalf of the people of Albemarle County.”
At a special meeting Thursday, the supervisors called on the School Board to tighten its mandated reporting policies and improve transparency with the public in the wake of recent scandals, including the arrest of a Hollymead elementary staffer on sexual assault charges and the arrest of three current and former ACPS administrators on charges of failing to report potential assaults.
The supervisors unanimously passed a resolution that formally requested the school board confirm and improve its mandated reporting policies, establish policies to protect whistle blowers, and have an independent audit evaluate its FOIA compliance, in addition to other items.
In Saturday’s statement, Berlin addressed many of those concerns. She said division employees know they are mandated reporters and that they do not need to go through a supervisor to do so. Berlin said employees are trained they can go directly to social services or child protective services to make their reports.
Berlin’s statement also said it included an attachment with the “non-confidential scope” of the independent investigation the School Board ordered on Aug. 4.
“We want to be candid,” Berlin wrote. “For too long, the school division has failed to invest in the essential systems and infrastructure necessary to be responsive to the needs of a school division our size. We know there are gaps in services such as FOIA response, records management, and database infrastructures, which limits efficiency and accuracy in tracking and reporting public information. Staff have been working to address those needs, and fixing them takes sustained investment and additional expertise.”
Berlin’s statement also noted that, because of the ongoing legal cases, there are limits to what the School Board can publicly share, but that the body does want to improve its transparency.
The school division has been under scrutiny since two staffers were arrested. Woodbrook teacher Nicholas Clark was arrested in March on child pornography charges and Swiney was arrested in June on 11 felony charges of sex crimes against children.
On Oct. 5, Albemarle County Public Schools’ Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer Brodie Downs and Assistant School Division Counsel & Title IX Coordinator Erin Stone, as well as former Hollymead Elementary School Principal Joe McCauley, were arrested and charged with three counts each of failure to report a case of child abuse.
“The Board of Supervisors’ resolution raises important questions. The best answers will come from our two boards working through them together,” Berlin wrote. “Thousands of ACPS administrators, teachers, and staff care for our students every day, and they deserve our support. So does every family counting on us to get this right. We are listening, and we are ready to do this work alongside our partners on the Board of Supervisors.”
Also Saturday, the division announced new point of contact at Woodbrook Elementary School, where Principal Christie Isaiah has been on leave since Sept. 28. Starting Monday, Gwedette Crummie will be on-site at Woodbrook, according to an email sent to families by Acting Superintendent Dr. Chandra Hayes. Lisa Molinaro will also be working to support Woodbrook when Crummie is unavailable.
Crummie retired in 2022 after 12 years as the principal at Crozet Elementary School. The email said the division still does “not have a confirmed return date” for Isaiah.
