Earlier today The Richmonder’s education reporter, Victoria A. Ifatusin, filed a lawsuit on behalf of our readers and the general public in Richmond Circuit Court, requesting that key details in a Richmond Public Schools investigation into embezzlement by a senior employee be unredacted.

We did not arrive at this decision lightly, but we believe it is an important action to take as part of our mission to shine a light on how taxpayer dollars are used.

In April, RPS informed Ifatusin that employee Ronald “Bobby” Hathaway was no longer with the district, following an investigation into alleged improprieties.

The Richmonder, along with several other local news outlets, requested the contents of that investigation under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

As documented by CBS 6, the school district responded with a heavily redacted document that provided little insight into the details of the case.

The Richmonder sent a letter to the Richmond School Board identifying our objections to the release and asking for it to reconsider the redactions. The school district informed us earlier this week they believe the document meets disclosure standards.

The Richmonder is retaining Andrew T. Bodoh to represent the public interest in this case.

Bodoh said in a statement that FOIA laws are designed in part for situations like Hathaway’s.

"Virginia's first constitution, adopted this month 250 years ago, declared public employees to be the people's 'trustees and servants.' It told us to guard against 'the danger of maladministration,'” Bodoh wrote. “This principle gave birth to Virginia's Freedom of Information Act. A rule to protect public employees' legitimate privacy should not shield reports of financial mismanagement."

Ifatusin said the case represents an important step in The Richmonder’s commitment to keeping a watchful eye on those in power.

“Lawsuits like this are a method of last resort for reporters,” she said. 

“Our mission is to provide local news that contributes to a thriving and successful school system. Proper management of funds is essential to that success, and taxpayers are legally entitled to an accounting of how their money is being used.”

In the filing, Bodoh notes that records related to the misuse of public equipment and funds are not exempt under FOIA law.

“It is unlawful to withhold information … because disclosure would not constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy to a reasonable person, precisely because the public has a genuine interest in ensuring that public assets are not being mismanaged,” he wrote, referring to past precedent on FOIA set by Virginia’s Supreme Court.

Founder and Editor Michael Phillips said the case will not impact The Richmonder’s commitment to professional and thorough reporting on local education and other civic matters.

RPS was also sued after refusing to release large portions of an investigation into a June 2023 shooting outside Huguenot High School’s graduation ceremony.

In that case, a judge ordered that the document be released to the public with minimal redactions, a win for news organizations.

The Richmonder is a nonprofit news outlet started in September 2024 to fill the gaps left behind by the decline of legacy news outlets. The outlet is funded by reader donations and distributes a three-times-a-week newsletter in addition to its website.

The lawsuit will be funded out of the outlet’s general budget. The Richmonder’s largest single source of funding is the more than 1,300 members who contribute on a monthly or one-time basis.

Contact Founder Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org.