November 1, 2019
MEMORANDUM
TO:

Dr. Noelle Gabriel, Board Chair
Mr. Carlos J. Clanton, Board Vice Chair
Ms. Lauren Campsen, Board Member
Mrs. Adale Martin, Board Member
Ms. Christine Smith, Board Member
Dr. Sharon Byrdsong, Acting Superintendent

FROM:

Ms. Tanya Bhasin, Board Member
Mr. Rodney Jordan, Board Member

COPIES:

Mr. Jack Cloud, School Board, Attorney
Ms. Sara Gregory, Reporter, The Virginian-Pilot
Citizens of Norfolk

SUBJECT:

Follow-up re: October 30, 2019, Special School Board Meeting

We are going to uphold what we believe is our oath of office and the public service contract we
asked to enter into with the citizens of Norfolk. Based upon the information we have reviewed
concerning the part-time employment of a board member’s brother-in-law, we will not
knowingly mislead the public as school board members and then be a part of any public
perception of covering it up.
On September 5, 2019, NPS received the following inquiry from Virginia Pilot reporter Sara
Gregory, “Is Nate Kinnison employed by the district? If he is an employee, could I get his position,
job classification and salary/rate of pay?” Following limited board and administration discussion
with legal counsel, on September 13, 2019, a majority of the board and administration approved
a response that included the following statements:
“Mr. Kinnison is not an employee of the Norfolk Public Schools. He has off and on for the
past few years voluntarily and without pay provided services to the NPS Fine Arts
Department in connection with its Strolling Silver Strings and All City Jazz programs.”
“Mr. Kinnison has applied for part-time employment with the Norfolk Public Schools.
Because he is the brother-in-law of a school board member, Dr. Noelle Gabriel, before a
hiring decision can be finalized, certain certifications must be provided to the full board
both by Dr. Gabriel and the superintendent, Dr. Byrdsong, that neither Dr. Gabriel nor any
other school board member has had any involvement in the hiring. This is required by the
Virginia Conflicts of Interest Act, Section 2.2-3119 of the Virginia Code (there is also a

 School Board policy to this effect). Pending presentation of these certifications and action
by the Board, Mr. Kinnison has continued to volunteer his services to the Norfolk Public
Schools.”
Please note, given Mr. Kinnison’s background and experiences, one may surmise that he is
qualified to hold the part-time position of Director of the NPS Jazz Band, the position for which
he was being considered.
As the board was polled by Attorney Jack Cloud for approval of the September 13 response to
the Pilot, we raised objection to the response. Our concerns centered around not having all of
the facts to substantiate the details provided in the response to Sara Gregory. A written report
and timeline were requested of the school administration in multiple correspondences with no
written response provided to date. Additionally, Ms. Smith requested an independent audit.
Unable to receive board or administration support for a more thorough review, we (Bhasin and
Jordan) requested to receive an unredacted version of redacted documents provided to Sara
Gregory in response to her inquiry. On October 16, 2019, we received a hard copy of the
unredacted documents. Missing from the hard copy were pertinent email attachments. After
contacting Attorney Cloud and NPS I.T. Department, the full materials with attachments were
placed on a thumb drive and provided to us. We began reviewing the full set of documents on
October 17.
The documents we reviewed appeared to conflict with the September 13 statement issued to
the press and public as well as the closed session Board discussions held on September 11 and
September 18. Documents and email messages we reviewed appear to indicate Mr. Kinnison
was hired as the part-time Director of the NPS Jazz Band during the July/August 2019 time period.
Documents appear to indicate he was reference checked, cleared for employment, issued an ID
badge, completed appropriate paperwork, and at some point, completed and submitted a PartTime Employee Data Form. The documentation appears to show standard steps for any parttime employee were taken and supports Mr. Kinnison followed all the appropriate steps to fill a
part-time employment position for which he was deemed qualified. (See redacted sampling of
documentation below which we believe complies with Virginia Code Section 2.2-3705.1 and
aligns with personnel information provided to Sara Gregory within the September 13th response.)
Faced with the new information and considering the importance of public trust, three members
of the Board (Bhasin, Smith, and Jordan) called a Special Meeting to seek clarity of previous
statements and information shared versus the new information we reviewed. We requested a
closed session in keeping with previous board discussions of the matter. We requested the
Special Meeting, in part, because efforts to have a thorough review and to receive full reporting
to substantiate statements to the public were unheeded. Additionally, we were uncertain
whether we were in the midst of another instance where some board members were receiving
information and legal counsel and possibly taking action or inaction harmful to the board as a
whole and the school division.

 Under the Virginia Conflicts of Interest Act, Section 2.2-3119 of the Virginia Code and the board
policy Attorney Cloud referenced in the September 13 statement to the public, certain
certification and disclosure requirements are the responsibility of board members and the
superintendent. The burden does not fall on the prospective employee. The documents we
received suggest NPS did consider Mr. Kinnison a part-time employee at least through midAugust. If our review of the documents is correct, the board and the superintendent with wise
legal counsel could have chosen to admit a failure to make the appropriate superintendent and
board member certifications prior to employment, rescind the employment, make the public
superintendent and board member certifications, and take a public vote.
Our board of recent gives special attention to the governing concept of “the will of the board.”
Indeed “the will of the board” is central to our work, but be reminded “the will of the board” is
somewhat short-hand in our view for “the will of the board in the best interests of NPS children
and staff supported by upholding one’s oath, governed by policy, informed by facts, and
undergirded by service to the public.”

 From:

 

To:

Cc:

Subject: Re: Jazz Band- Nathaniel Kinnison
Date: Tuesday, July 30, 2019 4:24:00 PM
July 1

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 30, 2019, at 3:36 PM, 75? 12 s> wrote:

What is the start date for Mr. Kinnison.

Respectfully,

From: m>

Sent: Tuesday, July 30,2019 2:44 PM
To: 

Subject: Re: Jazz Band? Nathaniel Kinnison

Thank you.

Sent from my iPhonc

On Jul 30, 2019, mm 

wrote:

Mr. Nathaniel Kinnison Cleared for employment.

Respectfully,

From:

 

To:

Cc:

Subject: Link to Music ED page on NPS web
Date: Thursday, August 15, 2019 11:54:23 AM

Attachments: QuibgK-jf?daognng
Hi 

Can you add the following link and names to our NPS Music Page forthe NPS All City Jazz Band

Remove -and the old phone number please as well.

mumnps'azzorg

 

Nathaniel G. Kinnison, Director

-ssistant Director