A legal group is calling for a criminal investigation into Portsmouth schools over the march

A nonpartisan public interest litigation firm is calling for a criminal investigation into Portsmouth Public Schools (PPS) after the school division allegedly used taxpayer money to… Hosting a political rally for the Democratic candidate to Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger in August.

The Liberty Justice Center is calling for a formal investigation after Spanberger, who was elected governor of Virginia last week, held a rally at IC Norcom High School for free, with controversial district attorney candidate, now Attorney General-elect, Jay Jones in attendance.

“This is just a gross misuse of public funds and resources,” Brendan Philbin, senior counsel at the Liberty Center for Justice, told Fox News Digital. “Teachers, maintenance staff, everyone’s time should, at this point, be ready for the start of the new school year. But instead, they are using all this time and resources to host this unjustified political event.”

“If an official causes public assets, resources, or labor to be used for a reason other than their intended purpose, and the value of that is more than $1,000, that’s a felony in Virginia,” Philbin added.

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The group claims PPS was violated Virginia Code 18.2-112.1(b)Which defines “misuse of public assets.”

The statute states: “Public assets means personal property owned or paid for by the commonwealth, or by any city, town, county, or other political subdivision, or the business of any person other than the defendant that is paid for by the commonwealth, or by any city, town, county, or other political subdivision.”

“Any officer, agent, or full-time employee of the commonwealth, or of any city, town, county, or other political subdivision, uses or permits the use of public assets, without lawful authorization, for private or personal purposes unrelated to the duties and position of the defendant or any other legitimate governmental interest when the value of such use exceeds $1,000 in any 12-month period, is guilty of a felony of the fourth degree,” according to Virginia law.

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Liberty Justice Center claims the value of services provided to the campaign exceeded $1,000 due to the cost of renting several rooms at the school, teachers who were present around the clock, the labor and time of support staff and basic maintenance work to enhance public lands.

At one point in an email exchange between the campaign and the public school, IC Norcom Director Tisha Sanders offered classrooms to the campaign if soundproofing in the original space was an issue or if a larger space was needed for the political event.

The event was held on the first day of teachers’ shift, a time typically reserved for teachers to prepare for the upcoming school year. Teachers were required to be at work that day in their official capacity as summer vacation officially ended.

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Liberty Justice Center also alleges that Spanberger ethically violated 24.2-947.4(B)(2) of the Virginia Code by underreporting the “in-kind” contribution by the school board.

“For each contributor who contributed a total amount of more than $100, including cash and in-kind contributions, as of the report cutoff date, the campaign committee shall itemize each contributor in the report and include the following information,” the law states.

The misuse of public funds was originally revealed through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted by Restoration NewsThe school department claimed to the outlet that the rally was a closed event and the fee was waived because the building was already open.

but, Per emails obtained through the Freedom of Information ActSpanberger’s campaign official created an invitation link that was publicly available on the governor’s official’s website and which was sent to Dr. Jerry L. Simmons, PPS’s chief operating officer, by the campaign official who asked him to “share this RSVP invitation link with any interested teachers.”

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A spokesperson for Portsmouth Public Schools explained to Fox News Digital that the school was not aware the event was a campaign event, and instead believed it was an educational event. Once the manager saw that this was a campaign event, she asked the staff not to attend. The school district administration is now reviewing its processes and procedures to ensure they best align with board policies and state code.

The school district also clarified that the event was not open to the public and did not charge any fees to guests. A public schools spokesperson said the school buildings were already open and there were no facility or nursery fees. Security was provided by the Spanberger campaign.

The Liberty Justice Center wrote to Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Morales, but has not yet heard back from the parties on whether an investigation is underway or whether the state’s top legal officials are considering their calls for a criminal investigation.

Fox News Digital reached out to Miyares, Portsmouth Public Schools, IC Norcom High School, Simmons and the Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney, but did not receive responses in time for publication.

Preston Maisel is a writer for Fox News. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and X @MizellPreston.