By Heather Curtis
WMAL.com.
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Prince William County School Board Chairman Ryan Sawyers filed a lawsuit the board to get access to all the emails sent and received by his predecessor Milton Johns.
Sawyers did not respond to WMAL’s requests for comment but told Inside Nova he wants the emails to get a better understanding of issues the school board handles.
“I’m not sure exactly what he’s looking for. I do know he has several legal issues he’s involved in,” school board member Alyson Satterwhite told WMAL.
Patriot High School Principal Michael Bishop sued Sawyers before he became chairman.
Teachers and parents are concerned about the request. Satterwhite said some parents emailed Johns about their special needs children, and those emails are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. If Sawyers wants to read the emails sent by his predecessor he can file Freedom of Information Act requests and get access to the ones not protected by FERPA and other provisions.
Satterwhite wrote in a Facebook post that Sawyers should resign. She told WMAL he is wasting the board’s time and the staff’s when they have other more important issues to handle.
“He has been bullying, intimidating, and I believe there’s been some retaliation against staff, and this is completely unacceptable behavior, especially coming form the chairman at large of the school board,” said Satterwhite.
She would like to be able to get back to focusing on issues involving students, teachers and staff.
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