Manassas School Board Settles Brescia Suit, Drops Investigation
Manassas City School Board member Sara Brescia sued the board she sits on. Last week they settled. No money changed hands. Nobody admitted fault. The investigation order is gone — and she says colleagues had already talked about pulling her daughters out of Baldwin Elementary. Uriah Kiser sits down with Brescia, first elected in 2022 and running at-large again on the November 3 ballot, about how a June conversation at Baldwin turned into a TikTok, a police review, texts among board members, an August 6 email from colleague Diana Brown, and a lawsuit filed August 11. Brescia says sitting chair Jill Spall urged Superintendent Dr. Kevin Newman to open an investigation based on allegations from Baldwin family liaison Michael Gramajo — the partner of her election opponent, Marcus Still. She says an August 3 closed session left the employee topic and became a warning that her children’s school placement was a courtesy the board could take away. The settlement does three things: it rescinds the investigation order, bars the board from reviving that probe on the same allegations, and restates student-placement policy. Brescia calls the suit self-defense and a FOIA case about voting by text and phone instead of in public. Dayna-Marie Miles is the only sitting member who told Potomac Local News, on the record, that she did not support investigating Brescia. While the board spent August in court, the latest Virginia Standards of Learning results put Manassas City 17 points behind the state in reading, 18 in math, and 26 in science. Brescia blames a culture of complacency, points to a new K-12 math curriculum, and says the board still resists basic oversight — including tighter public comment and AI guidance. She compares herself to a porcupine: quiet until threatened. After November, she says she will keep asking score questions on the dais or off it. Campaign site and newsletter: https://www.bresciaforschoolboard.com/ This is Brescia’s account. Other board members, Gramajo, and Still have largely declined detailed on-the-record answers. Watch, then decide what you think the Manassas school board was doing in August — and what it should be doing now. If this kind of local reporting matters, like the video, leave a comment, subscribe to Potomac Local News, and turn on notifications so you do not miss the next interview. Support Potomac Local News Become a Member → https://potomaclocal.memberful.com/join Sources and prior reporting: Sara Brescia campaign — https://www.bresciaforschoolboard.com/ Potomac Local: settlement — https://www.potomaclocal.com/2026/09/09/school-board-war-ends-in-secret-deal-no-court-no-dollars-no-apology/ Potomac Local: closed session / Baldwin — https://www.potomaclocal.com/2026/08/26/brescia-says-manassas-board-used-a-closed-session-to-discuss-pulling-her-kids-from-baldwin/
