A well-known consulting firm that works with school systems is in hot water this week after one of its regional directors barred a reporter from a public meeting.
Iowa-based Ray and Associates works with school boards across the country to help solicit community input on potential superintendents and identify possible candidates. The school system in Lynchburg hired the firm for $16,000 to help find a new chief executive. But when the consulting firm held a community meeting at a high school, a reporter from the News and Advance was prevented from attending the public meeting. Adam Marshall at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press says that was a constitutional violation.
“This was a consulting firm that was doing work on behalf of the government for the government. They invited the public at large to attend a meeting, and then they excluded the news media from that. I think it’s completely fair to say that’s a violation of the First Amendment.”
Virginia legal expert Rich Kelsey says Ray and Associates clearly violated the First Amendment.
“This ban, this violation, was more stupid than it was sinister. Unfortunately, the First Amendment doesn’t have a 'Gee I’m sorry I’m stupid exception.”
In a written statement, the interim superintendent in Lynchburg threw the consulting firm under the school bus — saying he regrets the decision made by the firm. Ray and Associates president Ryan Ray says it was all a misunderstanding and his team is investigating to find out how it happened.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
