How elected officials navigate their public and private rolls has been called into question after the chair of the city school board alleged a council member made “bullying remarks” in an interaction with school staff concerning a matter with the member’s student.

As first reported in The Citizen, a letter sent by school board Chair Deb Fitzgerald to Mayor Deanna Reed, obtained by the Daily News-Record through a Freedom of Information Act request, said a council member was “less than cordial” and brought up the division's city funding during a meeting regarding a treatment an issue with the member’s child in school.

While Council member Chris Jones wasn’t identified in the letter, he was confirmed as the member in question through several interviews and documents obtained through the FOIA request.

Fitzgerald argued that the issue is a matter of power differentials and protecting employees, while Jones argued that the matter was private and questioned why the issue became public.

The email

In Fitzgerald’s email to Reed sent on Nov. 10, she said Jones contacted the school system concerning an issue with his child in the school division, ultimately conversing and meeting with the division’s chief of staff and a division-level director.

City superintendent Dr. Michael Richards said the employees reported uncomfortable interactions with Jones following meetings and conversations.

“My response essentially [was] ‘Please support the family to make sure that their child is successful,’” Richards said. “‘I understand that this was an uncomfortable situation. Let me address that separately, but you focus only on supporting the family.’”

After considering how to address the situation, Richards said he felt the incident would best be handled by the two leaders of the elected bodies — meaning Fitzgerald and Reed.

After Richards relayed the concerns to Fitzgerald, the chairperson sent the Nov. 10 email to the mayor.

The email states that at the end of Jones' meeting with the director, Jones made several comments, including referring to Richards as "my superintendent" and stating that HCPS didn’t support Black and Brown children. The email also states that Jones brought up council funding “he gives” to HCPS in a way that appeared “somewhat threatening.”

Fitzgerald said her email focused on the behavior of the council member in the meetings and felt it was inappropriate to bring up funding with employees who don’t make decisions around the budget.

Fitzgerald said in the email that council members who are parents have to understand the power dynamics between themselves and HCPS employees. How employees respond to elected officials, Fitzgerald said, can be impacted by these power dynamics.

Elected officials have some power, and “with great power comes great responsibility,” Fitzgerald said in an interview.

“The thing that school board members are certainly trained to do … is that our school board hat is never off,” Fitzgerald said. “It wouldn't matter whether I was talking to an HCPS employee or a member of the city staff, I have a responsibility to remember that I owe them a certain amount of respect, and I don't use my position in a way to intimidate or to bully or anything even remotely like that … I think that that was broken here.”

Jones' response

In a statement sent to the Daily News-Record, Jones said his conversations were from the perspective of a concerned parent, and the issue with his student wasn’t resolved by Nov. 10.

In texts obtained through a FOIA request, Jones told the mayor on Nov. 12 that “everything in the email is out of context or inaccurate.” Jones didn’t respond to inquiries on specifics as to which parts were inaccurate or out of context.

Jones said he confirmed with the administrators involved that his conversations were “courteous and respectful and from the perspective of a parent, not a council member.”

“I am a parent first and foremost. At all times during this process, I followed the school’s procedures and protocols for parents when they have issues,” Jones said in the statement. “In no way did I ever bully any staff member of HCPS as indicated by the Harrisonburg School Board Chair per her conversation with the Superintendent of HCPS in her letter to our Mayor.”

The biggest issue, Jones wrote in his Nov. 12 message to Reed, was that the problem with his student wasn’t resolved. In his statement, Jones said they began “the resolution process on Dec. 1st” and trusted the administrators to ensure his child has a better educational experience.

City council's stance

Other city council members maintained that this is a matter between a parent who happens to be a council member and HCPS, according to Reed.

“When Deb Fitzgerald reached out to me, the first thing I did was I spoke to Councilman Jones to learn more about what was going on,” Reed said. “It was clear to me and the rest of our council members, when I talked to them individually, that this was a matter between a parent, his child and Harrisonburg City Public Schools. We did not see this as a council matter.”

Reed said that while Jones is aware of the boundary between his roles as a council member and a parent, he is “passionate” about protecting his child and serving his community.

“All five council members are aware of what is expected of us, as well as what is expected of elected officials,” Reed added.

Reed also said that an individual council member can't make major decisions on any matter, to include funding, because the board needs three members' approval to move an issue forward.

“The way that we’re set up as a council body, is that no one council member can go rogue and say that they’re going to do something on their own,” said Reed. “That doesn’t happen. That can’t happen”

Reed said the council doesn’t plan to take action against Jones for his role in the incident, and no specific procedure for the council to step in on matters of ethics has been established by this body.

According to city attorney Chris Brown, council members must adhere to the Virginia Conflicts of Interest Act when conducting their civic duties and other sections of state and city codes. The Conflicts of Interest Act prohibits council members from accepting certain gifts that may be granted to them due to their positions. The state and city codes detail how the council operates as a collective.

Brown also said that when council members enter office, they must complete new-member orientation. Brown mentioned that the city uses the Virginia Municipal League’s New Council Orientation Seminar, among other VML products. According to the VML, it provides access to various conferences and resources, including a handbook for council members.

Moving forward, Reed said she didn’t foresee any impact on the relationship between the city and its schools.

“I have no concerns with the ability of our council members to do their job objectively,” said Reed.

Fitzgerald said she hoped that elected officials respected all city employees and remembered that the “hat” of an elected official can't be taken off.

Jones said the superintendent gave his family a negative experience, and while they “felt cheated,” this wouldn’t impact his support of the school division's financial needs.