One of the less noticed features of the Virginia Way is the long-running tendency of the commonwealth’s leaders to conduct their decision-making behind closed doors. While the Virginia Freedom of Information Act presumes all government business is by default public and requires officials to justify why exceptions should be made, too many Virginia leaders in practice take the opposite stance, acting as if records are by default private and the public must prove they should be handled otherwise.

In this feature, we aim to highlight the frequency with which officials around Virginia are resisting public access to records on issues large and small — and note instances when the release of information under FOIA gave the public insight into how government bodies are operating.

Richmond faces scrutiny over Flock contract records

Richmond said it had no records. Then, after requests were reworded, it produced them — at least three times over nine months, according to The Richmonder, raising questions about the city’s effort to improve transparency. 

One request focused on the city’s contract with license plate reader company Flock, which has faced privacy criticism across the commonwealth. Some localities have publicly supported using the cameras to help solve crimes.

The Richmonder said Chesterfield and Henrico sent copies of their contracts. Richmond Police said it found “no relevant documents,” and the city’s procurement office said the same, each directing The Richmonder to the other’s office.

“Why did the city say two departments doing two searches for the contract had turned up nothing?” The Richmonder wrote.

In a third attempt, the outlet changed its request from “Flock Safety Inc.” to the contractor’s name, “Insight Public Sector,” to search for the contract for nearly 100 cameras in the city.

The city also rejected two other requests. One involved the Richmond Flying Squirrels, which operates under the legal business name Navigators Baseball LP. Another sought a water-funding spreadsheet, but the city rejected it because the request contained a typo.

Mayor Danny Avula vowed to improve the city’s responsiveness. After multiple records requests for the Flock contract, he told The Richmonder that he believes employees made an honest effort to find it and that the procurement office’s search process wasn’t comprehensive enough. 

“Our FOIA officers work really hard to identify responsive records the requester is asking for, and we definitely encourage FOIA officers to ask clarifying questions to help scope the request, but there are undoubtedly times where they just do a search for the words that were asked for,” Avula said.

The Richmonder said Avula’s administration didn’t directly answer who decided to say there was no Flock contract.

Mold forces temporary closure of Obama Elementary

Mold that shut down Richmond’s Barack Obama Elementary School at the start of the school year has prompted recommendations to remove and replace building materials, according to a contractor’s report obtained by WTVR.

The contractor said the school’s HVAC and moist pipes caused the mold. The assessment identified a broader pattern of moisture intrusion, leaks, water-damaged materials and areas where moisture could remain hidden. 

WTVR’s records request included the contractor’s room-by-room assessment, prior work orders, information about leaks and the HVAC system, and remediation recommendations. Priority repair areas included areas affected by active plumbing leaks and roof leaks.

Students returned to school after nine days.

WTVR questioned Richmond Public Schools about the work-order descriptions and whether repairs had been completed. RPS said many of the underlying issues have since been addressed and that it is adding ongoing monitoring.

The city of Richmond is one of 47 localities seeking voter approval in November to collect a 1% sales tax for school construction and modernization to address aging facilities. Obama Elementary, formerly J.E.B. Stuart, opened in 1922.

Court sides with parent in Spotsylvania FOIA delay case

A parent seeking records about her children’s education plans won a partial victory in the Virginia Court of Appeals, which sent part of her FOIA case against the Spotsylvania County School Board back to the trial court. 

Tamara Quick, the parent of two students, sought documents related to their individualized education programs, customized learning plans for students with disabilities. 

The Virginia Coalition for Open Government, a nonprofit alliance promoting open government, published a copy of the Aug. 4 opinion, drawing attention to questions about the school division’s compliance with Virginia’s FOIA response deadline. Quick alleged that the division had failed to respond within five business days, instead taking more than a month. 

Quick lost in the trial court after arguing that the school division had not responded properly or quickly enough under Virginia FOIA. She appealed.

The appeals court upheld the lower court’s finding that Quick’s April 18, May 6, and May 23 inquiries were not FOIA requests.

However, her Oct. 4 request was a valid FOIA request because it explicitly referenced FOIA and was sent to the school superintendent and FOIA officer.

The appeals court sent the issue back to the lower court after the school division produced records more than a month later, on Nov. 8.

The trial court must examine whether the division produced the specific records requested Oct. 4 and whether it violated FOIA’s five-working-day requirements.

The appeals court rejected Quick’s two other FOIA requests on procedural grounds. Her Nov. 5 request was not in the record, so she could not establish what she sent or to whom. Her Jan. 13 request was sent to the school system’s private attorneys rather than the school system itself.

Residents use FOIA to uncover data center projects

Residents in Franklin and Roanoke counties used public records requests to uncover details about proposed data centers as scrutiny of the projects grows, WVTF reported.

In Franklin County, resident Laura Carter told WVTF that her FOIA request about the county’s zoning ordinance and process uncovered references to “Project Flash.” The project was later identified as a proposed data center development at Summit View Business Park, just north of Rocky Mount. 

As details emerged, residents opposed the project, and the county announced in mid-August that it was not moving forward.

In a separate case, the Southwest Virginia Data Center Transparency Alliance used records requests to piece together a potential agreement involving a data center at Wood Haven Technology Park in Roanoke County.

That project ultimately fell through.

“It’s a helpful illustration of how some of these deals can come together, but it is also a case where we got lucky this time,” Ben Verschoor, alliance organizer, told WVTF. “We should be taking measure to ensure it doesn’t happen.”

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