The Dunne Dispatch (Hayfield Football Update) - 11/26/2024

Fairfax County Public Schools sent this bulletin at 11/26/2024 03:44 PM EST

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The Dunne Dispatch (Hayfield Football Update) - 11/26/2024

STATEMENT OF MATEO DUNNE ON NEXT STEPS IN THE HAYFIELD FOOTBALL SITUATION

FCPS has demonstrated unprecedented incompetence in its handling of the Hayfield football situation, which is perhaps the greatest (local) sports scandal in the history of the Commonwealth. Their actions and inaction have shattered the faith and trust of our community in the integrity of our athletic programs and FCPS leadership. I deplore the unnecessary trauma and turmoil inflicted on our student-athletes, families/caregivers, schools, and community.  

Yesterday, I joined with my colleagues Ricardy Anderson and Ricardy Anderson to issue a Joint Statement calling for a comprehensive and independent investigation of the Hayfield football situation, to include a “no holds barred” external inquiry into how FCPS has handled this scandal since inception.

Today, the City of Fairfax School Board issued a clarion call for a comprehensive and independent investigation, echoing our Joint Statement and the City’s previous statement on November 17.

It is time for the School Board to hear the voices of our constituents and hire an outside law firm to ascertain the facts and make recommendations on how we can chart a new course to establish a level playing field for our athletic programs wherein games are played in accordance with established rules that are fairly and consistently enforced.

I regret that due to the obvious conflict of interest, I must call for the Superintendent and her Division Counsel to recuse themselves from any involvement in the comprehensive and independent investigation. Their actions and inaction led to the current debacle, and they can’t be trusted to right the ship.

While the Superintendent has announced limited actions such as an external review of student transfers, those actions appear to my constituents to constitute a coverup--a narrow inquiry that does not address the profound questions that have been raised by the scandal and how it has been handled.

I am sharing with you the text of motions to be discussed during the School Board meeting on December 5, 2024. These motions are based on the Joint Statement issued yesterday by Mateo Dunne, Ricardy Anderson, and Ryan McElveen. Through these actions, we hope to restore the integrity of our athletic programs and rebuild public trust in FCPS leadership.

I encourage my constituents and Fairfax County residents to contact your representatives on the School Board to express their support for these motions. Now is a time for action to root out the rot and ensure a bright future for our student-athletes.

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  1. I move that the School Board restore the integrity of our athletic programs and provide a level playing field for FCPS student-athletes by directing the School Board’s Office of Auditor General to retain an outside law firm through a competitive solicitation to conduct a comprehensive and independent investigation of all allegations arising out of or relating to the Hayfield football situation, to include but not limited to: (1) the alleged dismissal of Coach Said Aziz and the hiring of Coach Darryl Overton; (2) the allegedly involuntary reassignment of FCPS employees; (3) the alleged recruitment of football players from other schools; (4) the transfer of 31 football players from other schools; (5) the residency and eligibility of the football players concerned; (6) alleged cyberbullying and social media policy violations; (7) the conduct of the FCPS internal investigation from June to August 2024; (8) the handling of the Hayfield football situation by FCPS leadership since February 2024; and (9) alleged actions and statements to silence, reprimand, retaliate against, and threaten FCPS employees who shared (or sought to share) their personal views on the Hayfield football situation. The outside law firm shall report directly to the School Board’s Office of Auditor General (without any direction or supervision from the Superintendent and Division Counsel). The outside law firm shall have no pre-existing relationship with (and shall not have performed any work within the last 10 years for) the Superintendent (to include her positions with other school divisions) or the Office of Division Counsel. The findings and recommendations of the investigation shall be published (subject to any limitations under Virginia law as determined by the outside law firm).
  2. I move that the School Board direct the Governance Committee to amend Policy 1106 to (1) expand the definition of “protected activity” to include an actual or apparent violation of any law, rule, or regulation; gross mismanagement; gross waste of funds; abuse of authority; substantial and specific danger to public health or safety; or censorship of educational data and research; (2) require whistleblower disclosures and claims of actual or apparent whistleblower retaliation to be reported to the School Board’s Office of Auditor General; and (3) assign exclusive responsibility for the investigation of whistleblower disclosures and claims of actual or apparent whistleblower retaliation.
  3. I move that the School Board direct the School Board’s Office of Auditor General to establish a Dissent Channel modeled on the State Department’s Dissent Channel for the expression of (anonymous) alternative or dissenting views and policy proposals
  4. I move that the School Board direct the Governance Committee to establish a new policy to govern the hiring, reassignment, removal, and training of coaches.
  5. I move that the School Board direct the Superintendent to (1) establish increased controls and scrutiny of the hiring, reassignment, removal, and training of school-based administrators; and (2) prohibit the involuntary reassignment and removal of school-based administrators without advance notice to the School Board.
  6. I move that the School Board direct the Superintendent to establish a code of ethics and standards of conduct for FCPS leadership and school-based administrators, modeled on Federal ethics laws and regulations.
  7. I move that the School Board direct the Governance Committee to ensure that all FCPS policies and regulations, including but not limited to the SR&R, uphold the rights of student journalists to make decisions regarding content without prior review or approval.

The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.

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