School board holds closed session on hiring recommendations, later certifies compliance and approves personnel consent items

The Petersburg City Public Schools board moved into a closed session on Feb. 5 to consider the superintendent’s recommendations for employment of teachers and principals.

Board member Kari Tucker read the motion that invoked a closed meeting under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act: “I move that the school board go into a closed meeting to consider the superintendent's recommendation for employment of teachers and principals as authorized by section 2.2-3711(A)(1) of the Code of Virginia.” The motion was seconded and carried by voice vote.

After the closed session, the board publicly certified compliance with the FOIA requirements. In the roll-call certification required by Va. Code 2.2-3712(D), each member answered “Yes” when asked to certify that only lawfully exempted matters were discussed. Board members recorded as answering in the roll-call in the transcript include Bernard Lundy Jr., Kari Tucker, Joyce Proctor, Kenneth Pritchard, Adrian Dan Sr., Halby Miles Sr., and Steven L. Peters.

Back in open session the board approved the superintendent’s final personnel agenda and the consent agenda (which included the minutes of several January meetings and vendor contract extensions). The superintendent had recommended approval of the final personnel agenda as provided; the consent action passed by a voice vote recorded as “Aye.”

Ending: The board’s minutes and consent items reflect approval of the personnel agenda. No individual hire names or employment terms were read into the public record at the open meeting beyond the superintendent’s recommendation; personnel deliberations took place in the closed session as allowed by state law.