Group Demands Criminal Probe into Virginia School Over Spanberger Rally
A nonpartisan public-interest litigation group is calling for a criminal investigation into Portsmouth Public Schools (PPS), alleging the school division improperly used taxpayer resources to host a political rally for…
A nonpartisan public-interest litigation group is calling for a criminal investigation into Portsmouth Public Schools (PPS), alleging the school division improperly used taxpayer resources to host a political rally for now-Governor Abigail Spanberger in August.
According to Fox News, the Liberty Justice Center says the rally, held at I.C. Norcom High School, featured Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones, now AG-elect, and was provided free of charge.
“This is just a gross misuse of public money and resources,” Brendan Philbin, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, told Fox News Digital. “The time of teachers and the maintenance staff and everyone should be, at this point, getting ready to start the new school year. But instead, they’re using all this time and resources to host this gratuitous political event.”
Philbin argued the alleged actions could be a felony under Virginia law if public resources are used for nonofficial purposes exceeding $1,000.
“If an official causes public assets, resources or labor to be used for a cause other than what they are intended for, and the value of that is over $1,000, then it’s a felony in Virginia