RICHMOND, Va. -- The Richmond School Board member who first called for a third-party investigation into the Huguenot High School graduation day shooting said she was "angry" after reviewing the findings.
“We, on many levels, failed," said board member Dr. Shonda Harris-Muhammed.
Harris-Muhammed initiated Sands Anderson's external probe of Richmond Public Schools' operations leading up to and the day of the June 6 graduation. Following the ceremony, graduate Shawn Jackson and his stepfather Renzo Smith were shot and killed. Several others were injured.
Harris-Muhammed said the investigation revealed systematic failures within the division.
“This is not the first time I have talked about from my school board seat, and it's an honor to serve, the dysfunctionality of our operations," she said. “Houston, we got a problem.”
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The report showed numerous school staff members were aware of threats against Jackson, who was a homebound student partly due to threats of violence and not allowed in school buildings or at school-sponsored events, per district policy.
Multiple times leading up to June 6, Jackson's mother told Huguenot employees, including the principal and his counselor, about safety concerns surrounding her son. She warned that other Huguenot students "shot up" their home, "literally tried to kill" Jackson, and that is was "very unsafe" for him to physically be in school.
After acknowledging that it could potentially be "dangerous" for Jackson to participate in a graduation rehearsal, the counselor said she would just "squeeze him in" the day of the ceremony.
Investigators found multiple staff members with information about security issues never conducted a threat assessment and that Jackson was allowed at graduation against required authorizations and without any consideration of safety concerns.
"Had the administration from the central office level and the building level completed the mandated Virginia-required threat assessment– we are mandated reporters... Had we done what we were supposed to do, and it started with a threat assessment, I don't know..." Harris-Muhammed said.
"Maybe it wouldn't have happened?" reporter Tyler Layne asked.
"Maybe, right," Harris-Muhammed said.
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In an interview with an investigator, the counselor said she was "not aware" of the proper homebound processes for permitting Jackson to walk at graduation and was "never" trained on homebound policies.
Furthermore, the investigation found central office leadership and building staff all had different views on whether they had to strictly follow homebound policy. The district's chief academic officer said that "probably zero" principals had even read the homebound handbook.
"Training issues" and minimal oversight were problems identified with the program, and the structure of it complicated Jackson's achievement and services.
Overall, the report revealed that Jackson's homebound process was "confusing" and "inefficient."
“I have questioned the homebound program, as it was challenging," said RPS parent LaKeisha Williams who had tried enrolling her son into the program previously. “You’re supposed to avoid all school property, any RPS property, you’re supposed to avoid that. And because stuff like this slips through the cracks, there’s an issue there.”
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Williams, also a preschool teacher within the division, said the district's operational functioning has always remained a challenge.
“Sometimes you know that those systems exist. The issue comes along when-- who to answer to when it's time to implement those policies and procedures. Majority of the time, they are there. They are somewhere in the handbook, they are somewhere where administration can respond to it. But when you come to look into the fact of who do I answer to next? They can't tell you," Williams said.
The Virginia Department of Education's Office of School Quality, which has an existing years-long improvement plan with the district, would appear to agree.
In January 2023, the Office of School Quality told School Board Chair Stephanie Rizzi that it had observed concerns with the district's overall operations, according to documents previously obtained by CBS 6 through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Rizzi documented the feedback as saying, “RPS is deficient in its creation and implementation of effective systems and organizational structures. Systemic lines are blurred, and employees are often unsure of their roles causing systemic breakdowns. This may have an impact on some of the struggles we’ve recently witnessed where a lack of standardized protocols and procedures haven proven problematic.”
Williams said she wants a 360, district wide audit of organizational structures to determine whether any additional gaps in oversight and management exist in other areas.
“I’m not sure what the last charm is going to be. The Fox fire should’ve shined light, we’ve dealt with the mold issues, and now we have a murder, blood on our hands. That’s a problem for me," Williams said.
Harris-Muhammed said she believes the public was initially misled about RPS' handling of the graduation situation and expects to address accountability measures in closed session when the school board meets on Monday.
She did not specify any specific actions, noting that she cannot openly discuss personnel matters.
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