Virginia LULAC Calls for Transparency and Accountability in Manassas City Schools
Virginia LULAC believes that public office is a public trust and that government exists to serve all people, not the political interests of any individual elected official.
We are deeply concerned by the allegations involving Manassas City School Board Member Sara Brescia and Manassas City Public Schools employee Michael Gramajo, a Latino and member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Gramajo has publicly alleged that Brescia approached him during a June 1 event at Baldwin Elementary School, where he works as a family liaison and Brescia's children attended school. According to Gramajo, Brescia asked to speak with him privately about matters she could not discuss on school grounds, requested his personal phone number because the matter was "fairly time sensitive," and subsequently asked to meet with him. Gramajo says he declined and later reported the interaction to human resources.
Gramajo has further stated that parents subsequently came forward in writing with allegations that Brescia had discussed his personal relationship on school grounds. Gramajo says he submitted those letters to the superintendent and School Board. He also publicly described a parent allegation that Brescia displayed a photograph and information concerning his partner, School Board candidate Marcus Still, from her phone on school grounds and passed it around.
Brescia disputes Gramajo's characterization of the interaction. She has said surveillance video shows Gramajo approaching her and greeting her warmly, while acknowledging that she wanted to speak with him because his partner was her election opponent. Brescia has also said the photograph of Still was publicly available, came from a candidate-vetting database, and was already circulating. Source: https://www.insidenova.com/news/prince_william/brescia-battles-colleagues-as-accusations-abound-within-manassas-school-board/article_73f53529-1910-4202-9b17-b537a25bcdde.html
These concerns have moved beyond an informal dispute. Gramajo reported the matter through employment channels and publicly brought his allegations before the Manassas City School Board. Parents also reportedly provided written accounts concerning the alleged conduct, which Gramajo says were submitted to the superintendent and School Board. Yet the investigation that was requested did not occur.
The allegations raise serious concerns about the treatment of a Latino and LGBTQ+ public employee and the potential misuse of the access, influence, and authority that accompany public office. An employee who reports allegations of harassment or inappropriate conduct in the workplace deserves to have those allegations taken seriously and investigated through an appropriate process.
Manassas City Public Schools also has a responsibility to protect its employees and ensure that employees who report alleged harassment, intimidation, or abuse of authority have meaningful protections and avenues for recourse.
This is an issue of public trust and potential abuse of power. Virginia LULAC is asking for an investigation, answers, and accountability.
Government serves everyone. Public institutions do not belong to individual elected officials, political parties, or campaigns. They belong to the people.
This is especially important in Manassas, where the Latino community is a major part of the city's identity. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 44% of Manassas residents are Hispanic or Latino. Latino residents are integral to the city's schools, workforce, neighborhoods, economy, and future.
When allegations involve the treatment of a Latino public employee in a city where nearly 44% of residents are Latino, Virginia LULAC has a responsibility to pay attention and to advocate for a fair process.
Virginia LULAC stands with Michael Gramajo as a Latino employee who deserves to have his concerns taken seriously and investigated fairly. His identity, his relationship, and his connection to someone seeking public office should never diminish his right to dignity and fair treatment as a public employee.
We also stand with the Manassas City School Board in its responsibility to protect its employees and the diverse community it serves. When serious concerns involving the treatment of a school employee are brought forward, employees should have meaningful avenues for reporting those concerns, receiving support, and seeking appropriate review.
The recent settlement between Brescia and the Manassas City School Board brought their legal dispute to an end without either side admitting liability. As part of that settlement, the Board withdrew its prior request for an investigation and agreed not to initiate another investigation based on the same allegations, while Brescia agreed to dismiss her legal action. The settlement resolved the legal dispute between Brescia and the School Board without resolving the underlying allegations concerning the interaction between Brescia and Michael Gramajo. Sources: https://www.insidenova.com/news/education/manassas-city-school-board-brescia-settle-legal-dispute/article_d5f45223-b4b7-4927-af71-9e0c862a9dc0.html
For Virginia LULAC, that distinction matters. The litigation may be over, but the concerns raised by a Latino and LGBTQ+ school employee remain unanswered.
Virginia LULAC therefore calls for:
The appropriate legal authorities for the City of Manassas to independently investigate or review these allegations, determine what investigative authority exists, and ensure that any matter outside their jurisdiction is referred to the appropriate authority.
The Virginia Department of Education and Virginia Board of Education to review the matter within their respective authority and determine whether further investigation, referral, or other action is warranted.
Organizations representing Manassas City Public Schools employees, including unions and employee associations, to stand with their members and employees by ensuring that workers who report concerns about harassment in the workplace have meaningful representation, protection, and support.
This is bigger than one political disagreement. It is about whether teachers, staff, and other public employees can perform their jobs knowing that serious allegations of harassment, intimidation, or abuse of authority will be taken seriously and appropriately investigated.
For Virginia LULAC, it is also about ensuring that Latino employees and families in a city where nearly 44% of the population is Latino know that their voices matter, their dignity will be respected, and their public institutions belong to them too.
Virginia LULAC stands with Michael Gramajo. We stand with Latino employees and families, the LGBTQ+ community, and the educators and employees of Manassas City Public Schools. And we stand with the Manassas City School Board in fulfilling its responsibility to protect its employees, safeguard the integrity of the school system, and ensure serious concerns receive appropriate attention.
Bullying and intimidation have no place in public service. Our schools belong to the entire community. Their employees deserve protection, their families deserve respect, and their elected leaders must remain accountable to the people they serve.
Virginia LULAC stands with the Latino community of Manassas and calls for an independent investigation into these allegations, answers for the community, and appropriate accountability based on the findings of that investigation.
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About Virginia LULAC
Virginia LULAC is the state chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the nation’s oldest and largest Latino civil rights advocacy organization. Our mission is to advance the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health, housing, and civil rights of Hispanic Americans in the Commonwealth of Virginia and beyond.
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