Portsmouth Public Schools found hosting a political rally for Abigail Spanberger on the first teacher work day of the year, despite existing regulations

A FOIA request by Restoration News revealed that Portsmouth Public Schools and the Spanberger for Governor campaign hosted a political rally inside I.C. Norcom High School on August 8th, 2025. This rally took place during school hours, on the first teacher workday of the year–taxpayer-funded work time for faculty and staff.

Social media coverage from the event shows Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi, and Jay Jones delivering nearly an hour of campaign speeches with their posters displayed in the high school’s library.

In the FOIA findings, Restoration News revealed that administrators solicited attendance to the rally during their workday, including emailing directly with campaign staff. In an email correspondence between Norcom’s Principal and a campaign aide, the Principal wrote, “I have invited teachers to the event. I will also speak to them the morning of August 8.”

In a separate email to the campaign aide, she wrote, “So far I have 20 teachers. How many would you like?”

Attendees included a host of teachers and staff, as well as the 2024 Middle School Teacher of the Year, who avowed her support of Spanberger from the podium. 

Existing Portsmouth Public Schools regulations do not allow employees to “engage in any activity supporting or opposing a candidate or political party while on duty, while on school property during school hours, or while representing the school division.” Additionally, the Portsmouth City School Board prohibits using “any school division property to engage in any activity supporting or opposing a candidate for public office or a political party.” 

Portsmouth Public Schools also has precise rules regarding who can rent school buildings. The City School Board’s document titled “RENTAL OF SCHOOL FACILITIES” stipulates that only local organizations or groups who “benefit” the school division and/or students are eligible for renting school buildings. Specifically, the City Board states, “an incorporated club or other organization” could be eligible if it’s local “primarily purpose is to benefit Portsmouth Public Schools or its student body.”

In this document, the Portsmouth City School Board also states that requests must be made 16 working days in advance, provide proof of insurance, and pay all associated fees at least five days before the event. However, the Spanberger campaign filed their request 8 days before the event and never provided any of the additional documentation or payment.

The Chief Communications Officer from Portsmouth Public Schools stated in an email to Restoration News on Friday October 24th, 2025 that the event was private and no fees were incurred.

However, the event was advertised on Mobilize, a commonly used political platform for RSVPing.