Manassas City Public Schools

School Board member Sara Brescia told her colleagues Tuesday that three of them used a private Aug. 3 meeting to talk about moving her elementary-age children out of Baldwin Elementary School. Then the board approved the minutes of that meeting, which never mention the children.

Brescia asked that one sentence be added to the official record. The board did not add it. After a messy voice vote — yeses, nos and an abstention, with no full list of who voted which way — Chair Jill Spall said the original minutes passed.

A Prince William County General District Court hearing on Manassas City School Board Member Sara Brescia’s Freedom of Information Act petition has been continued from Tuesday, Aug. 18, to Sept. 24.

Brescia filed the petition for a writ of mandamus on Aug. 11 (Case GV26019633-00), alleging that a majority of the board, facilitated by Chair Jill Spall, held an unlawful electronic or telephonic meeting and vote in violation of Virginia’s FOIA. The vote directed Superintendent Dr. Kevin Newman to open a full investigation, using outside counsel, into allegations first raised by Board Member Diana Brown.

The Manassas City Public Schools Education Foundation closed its FY 25-26 year with a bank balance of $167,899.05 and reported increased scholarship awards and the return of educator grants during a presentation to the Manassas City School Board.

Executive Director Carol Hartt delivered the update, introduced by Director of Public Communications and Community Relations Almeta Radford. Foundation board president Jimmy Conroy was unable to attend.

Update

On Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, after Potomac Local published a video report on this story, School Board Member Dayna-Marie Miles provided the following statement:

More than 200 community members, including School Board members, City Council, division and city leaders, current and former students and staff, and partners, gathered Tuesday for the official ribbon-cutting and unveiling of the new Jennie Dean Elementary School in Manassas.

The roughly $56 million facility at 9601 Prince William Street, designed for about 900 students in prekindergarten through fourth grade, will welcome its first classes Aug. 12 after years of planning and construction that stayed on time and on budget.