Board member says discussion behind closed doors went beyond its announced scope
2-Minute Brief
What happened: The Manassas City School Board approved the August 3 meeting minutes as presented after Board member Sara Brescia requested additional language about the closed session.
Brescia’s concern: Brescia says Board members discussed matters that were outside the announced purpose of the closed session.
What the record says: The Board entered the closed session to receive legal advice about a specific employee matter. The public minutes do not describe the private discussion.
Why it matters: Virginia law requires closed-session discussions to remain limited to the subjects announced beforehand.
What happened?
At the August 25 meeting, Brescia asked the Board to change the public minutes from its August 3 meeting.
She wanted the record to state that the closed session included discussion of her children’s school placement and family safety arrangements.
The Board considered her request and approved the August 3 minutes without the additional language.
The August 3 record shows that Brescia joined the other members present in voting to certify that the closed discussion stayed within its announced purpose. Brescia said she later requested the change after receiving legal advice.
Why did Brescia request the change?
Brescia said she requested the change because she believes the August 3 closed discussion moved beyond its announced purpose.
According to Brescia, Board members discussed whether her children could continue attending Baldwin Elementary School and asked about family safety arrangements made with school administrators. Her children attend Baldwin through a transfer waiver, although the family is zoned for Haydon Elementary.
Brescia said three Board members indicated that the Board could end the children’s placement at Baldwin if the family did not agree to move them. She did not identify the members.
She also said the division’s attorney raised concerns during the meeting about the scope of the discussion. Brescia said her own attorney later advised her to place her concerns on the public record.
The closed-session discussion and the attorneys’ comments are not part of the available public record and could not be independently confirmed.
What did MCPS say?
In response to questions from the Manassas Journal, MCPS Communications Coordinator Almeta Radford said the August 3 closed session was announced as a consultation with legal counsel about a specific employee legal matter.
Radford said division staff was not present for the closed discussion and could not address what occurred beyond the public record.
She confirmed that the Board considered Brescia’s proposed change on August 25 and approved the minutes as presented.
The division did not confirm or dispute Brescia’s account of the discussion.
What does Virginia law require?
Virginia law allows public bodies to meet privately for certain limited purposes.
Before entering a closed session, a public body must identify the subject, purpose and legal exemption. The discussion must remain limited to the announced subjects.
After returning to an open meeting, members must vote to certify that the discussion stayed within those limits. A member who believes the discussion went beyond the announced subjects must state that concern before the certification vote so it can be included in the public record.
Separate court case remains pending
Brescia filed a separate petition in Prince William General District Court on August 11. That case concerns her claim that Board members communicated outside public view and authorized an investigation into comments she reportedly made privately.
The case number is GV26019633-00. A hearing is scheduled for September 24.
The court case does not determine what occurred during the August 3 closed session. No court has ruled that the School Board or any individual member violated the law.
The August 25 meeting recording is available online. School Board records are available through MCPS BoardDocs. Virginia’s closed-meeting procedures are available in Virginia Code § 2.2-3712.
