CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – State Sen. Creigh Deeds, Del. Katrina Callsen and Del. Amy Laufer sent an emailed letter to the Albemarle County School Board on Friday calling for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of two ACPS staffers, one for sex crimes against children and the other for pornography charges.

The trio of Democratic lawmakers are adding their voice to the call made by Republican Congressman John McGuire a week earlier.

“The victims of these crimes deserved protection that came too late,” the letter reads. “We must do all that we can to protect them and others moving forward.”

The letter calls on the school division to “secure a timely independent investigation.” Staffer Michael Swiney was arrested on June 4 and charged with 11 felonies related to allegations he committed sex crimes involving children. On March 2, Nicholas J. Clark, a fifth grade teacher at Woodbrook Elementary School, was arrested and charged with possessing child pornography and distributing child pornography, both felonies.

“Our offices have heard numerous concerns about the lack of parental notification, confusion about the legality of public reporting, the possibility that prior reports of inappropriate behavior were ignored and unsupervised adult access to vulnerable students,” the letter reads. “These concerns must be thoroughly examined, as should the overall handling of the cases. The resulting report will help us better identify what policies or legislative remedies are needed to ensure our schools remain trusted spaces for our children to learn and teachers to teach.”

Thursday, the Albemarle County School Board voted to approve a new “Professional Boundaries and Prevention of Sexual Misconduct and Abuse” policy, in response to the cases. Superintendent Dr. Matthew Haas and Hollymead Principal Joe McCauley have both resigned in the wake of the arrests.

On July 9, McGuire called for a “a full-scale investigation” into Albemarle County Public Schools and their handling of the allegations in a letter he sent to Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Attorney General Jay Jones.