Prince William Racial Justice Commission argues about town hall, FOIA

Members of Prince William County’s Racial and Social Justice Commission exchanged heated words Thursday about the Oct. 6 town hall meeting hosted by commissioners Charles Haddow and Erica Tredinnick.

At one point, Haddow even invited Chair Shantell Rock to sue him if she believed the town hall violated the Freedom of Information Act's requirements for public meetings.

Rock’s absence from Thursday night’s meeting didn’t stop the commission’s three Republican-appointed members from airing grievances about Rock’s statement two weeks ago that the town hall at Patriot High School was in violation of FOIA.  Three members of the public body hosted the town hall regarding critical race theory in county schools.  

Rock said that proper public notice wasn’t given about the meeting and that members spoke in representation of the commission, something only she as the chair can do, unless she appoints someone else. 

On Thursday, Haddow pinned the absence of the meeting from the commission’s public calendar on staff, saying there may have been a mix-up. He said his original intent was to hold the meeting just with Tredinnick, but when another commission member, London Steverson, asked to join as well, Haddow said others assured him the meeting would be in the clear despite having three members present – which typically triggers FOIA requirements. 

Haddow said it was a “great meeting” with comity and open dialogue about critical race theory in Prince William schools. The division has been insistent that no such thing is taught in county schools, and while some form of culturally responsive instruction does happen, the two things are not the same. 

“If Chair Rock truly believes we did [violate FOIA law], sue us. That’s the remedy,” Haddow said at Thursday’s meeting. “Not to sit here and accuse us again … sue us because then we’ll let a judge decide and we’ll see whether or not there was an intent to [violate the law].”

Member Loree Williams, who also represents Woodbridge on the School Board, reminded the group of the FOIA training it received from county lawyers when the commission began to meet. 

“It’s very easy to get caught up and make a mistake, but that doesn’t allow … for you to not be held accountable for it,” Williams said. “I was very concerned that something like this would happen and it says in here … if there are three or more, it’s a public meeting.”

Before the argument about the town hall, the board held two listening sessions with essentially competing presentations. 

First, North Carolina-based culturally-responsive instruction consultant Josh Parker spoke about the value of teaching through “CRI.” Parker, who in 2012 was named Maryland Teacher of the Year, said teaching with a student’s cultural background and reference point in mind creates more on-ramps for the student to the curriculum material. Crucially, he said, teachers have to engage with their students and get to know them to figure out how best to engage them.

“The curriculum is the starting point, and they’re making adjustments to the work that give entry points,” Parker told the commission, giving the example of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” for which he said discussion is typically limited to the topics of the Russian Revolution and Stalinism. 

“I would come at it from a society of inequity, where certain rules apply to certain people and don’t apply to others; that gives an entry point,” he said. “I’m giving different entry points for students from different cultures so they can access the text … in a more proficient and profound way.”

After Parker spoke, Gainesville-based Paul Lott addressed the commission. Following the protests over the killing of George Floyd last year, Lott founded the National Society for the Advancement of Black Americans, which disputes the notions of systemic racism and white privilege. 

Lott, who previously presented before the commission’s education subcommittee, cited declining poverty rates and rising educational attainment for Black Americans nationwide as evidence that the country was already correcting for past wrongs. Locally, he said Black students in Prince William County Public Schools graduate at nearly the same rate as white students.  

Earlier this week, county school administrators provided detailed data from the past school year. It showed very similar graduation rates (with 97.3% of white students graduating on time and 94.1% of Black students doing the same) but a widening gap on state standards-of-learning exams. 

“I am just here to say: be cautious. You’re going to go forward and you can give recommendations about what it means, what the school district can do to affect outcomes. The job here is not to make people feel better about themselves,” Lott said. “Your school system is one of the best in the country, and you’ve been eliminating the gap over decades without any of this; that’s something to be celebrated. Let's look at what’s been working and not shift directions.”

Before the meeting wrapped up, Vice Chair Jahanzeb Akbar said subcommittees were aiming to submit reports to the chair by Nov. 1, so the commission could then put together a final report to the Board of County Supervisors. Work sessions on that report will be held in November and December.