CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – In a letter to Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Hingeley, Albemarle School Board Chair Dr. Rebecca Berlin defended the division’s actions in investigating sexual misconduct allegations against a former staffer and denied accusations from a member of Hingeley’s staff that the school system failed to meet its mandated reporting duties and that it hasn’t been cooperative with the Commonwealth’s Attorney office regarding the case.

The letter, sent by Berlin on behalf of the School Board, goes on to request a meeting between Hingeley and ACPS Acting Superintendent Dr. Chandra Hayes, “to establish a shared protocol for how allegations of this kind are reported, investigated, and communicated among our offices going forward, so that no report falls between agencies and every child is protected.”

On Thursday, Deputy Chief Commonwealth’s Attorney Lawton Tufts told Albemarle County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Higgins that he had reason to “question the trustworthiness” of a Title IX report from ACPS related to the case against Michael Swiney, the former Hollymead Elementary School staffer who has been charged with 11 felonies for sex crimes against children who were students at the school.

Swiney’s attorney, during a hearing in which he was denied bail, pointed to the division’s Title IX report, which an outside consultant determined “found Mr. Swiney ‘not responsible’ for conduct that violates Title IX,” per Berlin’s letter.

Swiney, a social emotional learning coach who had previously worked at another division school, Woodbrook Elementary, is accused of exposing himself to four girls at Hollymead under the age of 13, even placing his penis in one of the girls’ hands, Tufts told the court Thursday.

Tufts also told Higgins he felt the division had been less than cooperative in sharing information related to Swiney’s prosecution.

Friday, School Board member Dr. Kate Acuff told Cville Right Now that Tufts’s comments were “an unfortunate statement,”and accused Tufts of not having read the Title IX report in question as well as enflaming an already tense situation.

In her letter to Hingeley on Monday – the latest installment in this unusual spat between the School Board and the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office – Berlin also denied Tuft’s accusations.

“The school division has been careful throughout not to disclose information that could compromise the criminal process or bring additional trauma to the families directly affected by the alleged criminal behaviors,” Berlin wrote. ” … We write because several statements made publicly about the division’s actions are inconsistent with our records. We welcome any evidence you may possess to the contrary so that the public record is correct.”

While Tufts indicated that the school had mishandled its mandatory reporting responsibilities, Berlin wrote that the division followed the training it had received from law enforcement and Child Protective Services.

“We understand that the guidance given to staff was that when there is a situation where mandated reporting is required and the suspicion includes a possible criminal element, ACPS could report to either CPS or the Police Department, and that the receiving agency would inform the other,” Berlin wrote. “Therefore, staff reported the allegations brought forward in March 2026 to the Albemarle County Police Department within 24 hours.”

Berlin said the division had revised its policy since this case to require both agencies be informed. As to Tufts’s assertion that the division had been uncooperative with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office, Berlin wrote, “To our knowledge, staff responds to every warrant and subpoena the division receives and has provided all records it is legally permitted to provide in a manner consistent with agreed-upon guidance.”