To Whom it May Concern, March 7, 2007
Be it known that the first recipient of this letter is Rosemary Webb, Clerk; School Board of the Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) via email sent at approximately Noon on Wednesday, March 7, 2007. A timely reply is hereby requested from at least one representative of the ACPS School Board and by each of the TC Williams High School staff members who were responsible for violating my and my sons' civil rights on September 13, 2006.
Alexandria City Public School Board
Code of Ethics
1. Uphold the Constitution, laws and regulations of the United States, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the City of Alexandria.
The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States guarantees freedom
for citizens to publicly assemble in a peaceful manner on public property. Neither the
school system of Alexandria Virginia nor its employees are authorized to violate this
right. However, in the case brought before the ACPS School Board on January 4, 2007,
the evidence clearly shows that employees of ACPS clearly violated this right. Since the
ACPS School Board has ignored this issue, they are responsible for allowing this
violation to go unpunished and are subsequently in violation of this first rule of conduct.
2. Put loyalty to the welfare of the children and to the School District as a whole above loyalty to individuals, voting districts, particular schools or other special interest groups.
The ACPS School Board approved the selection of Dr. Riddile as the TC Williams
principal. He is a person who is responsible for the abuse of thousands of school aged
children and young adults. How can the board excuse this prior behavior and in good
conscience allow this individual to hold such power over school aged children at TC
Williams? Is it the policy of the ACPS School Board to hire persons with such a
background?
3. Give a full measure of effort and service to the position of trust for which stewardship has been granted; giving earnest effort and best thought to the performance of duties.
By ignoring the violation of civil rights by ACPS School employees, and not holding
them accountable for their actions, the ACPS School Board is failing to give an earnest
effort and has compromised the trust which, in the case of the ?2006 Back to School
Night? incident, appears to have been taken for granted by its members.
4. Seek to find and use the most equitable, efficient, effective, and economical means for getting tasks accomplished.
5. Recommend and support policies and programs that support and protect the human rights of all members of the school community.
ACPS School employees used the Alexandria City Police Department as a tool of
intimidation while committing a civil rights violation of American citizens. The ACPS
School Board should adopt a policy that strictly prohibits this type of behavior from its
members of the school community.
6. Ensure the integrity of the actions of the School Board by avoiding granting special favors or unfair privileges to anyone and any entity.
By ignoring the illegal behavior of a principal and his assistants at TC Williams High
School, it appears to me as if this person has been given special treatment.
7. Engage in no business with the City government, or the school system, either directly or indirectly, which is inconsistent with the conscientious performance of duties except as may be consistent with the conflict of interest statutes in the Code of Virginia.
8. Never use any information gained confidentially in the performance of Board duties as a means of making private profit or gaining personal advantage of any kind.
9. Report through appropriate means and channels, corruption, misconduct, or neglect of duty whenever discovered.
10. Adhere to the principle that the public's business should be conducted in the public view by observing and following the letter and spirit of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act using closed meetings only to deal with sensitive personnel, student, legal or contractual problems as provided by the Code of Virginia.
11. Ensure that when responding to the media, or in communication with others, a clear distinction is made between personal opinion or belief and a decision made by the school board.
12. Review orally and in public session at the annual organizational meeting each of these principles and abide by them as a Board Member.
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I would like to know why the ACPS School Board has thus far appeared to be ignoring my complaint against Dr. Riddile and his assistants. The FACTS of this case speak for themselves. Ignoring them will not make them disappear. When will these staff members at least apologize to us for what they did? Are they above the law? The very least they could do would be to say they are sorry. The Police Department took responsibility and has apologized for their part in the incident. I am disappointed that no ACPS Board member has contacted me regarding appropriate steps that will be taken to hold Dr. Riddile and his assistants accountable for violating my and my sons? rights to free speech. When will the ACPS School Board consider such action?
Sincerely,
William Earnshaw, Sr.
Midland Virginia