Problems with Nick Cottone at Seneca Ridge Middle School

FORMAL DEBARMENT REQUEST & ANTI-RETALIATION NOTICE I sent this correspondence to LCPS CFO this morning, Thursday, February 19, 2026, and will escalate the issue with the appropriate state agencies I have listed below  FORMAL DEBARMENT REQUEST & ANTI-RETALIATION NOTICE TO:  Sharon Willoughby (CFO); Cheryl Middleton (Purchasing); LCPS Division Counsel  DATE:  February 18, 2026  RE:  FORMAL REQUEST FOR VENDOR DEBARMENT (QlikTech, Inc.) & NOTICE OF PROTECTED ACTIVITY  STATUTORY BASIS:  VA Code § 2.2-4321; Section 504 (34 C.F.R. § 104.61); LCPS Policy 7561 I. ADVERSE VENDOR COMPLAINT (QLIKTECH, INC.)  Pursuant to the  Virginia Public Procurement Act (VPPA) , I formally request that LCPS initiate debarment proceedings against  QlikTech, Inc.  for a demonstrated lack of business integrity. Documented Misrepresentation & Coordinated Fraud:  Per the attached  Montgomery County, PA Case #2024-17511  and the...

THE $375 GHOSTING: LCPS Takes the Money, Hides the 944 Records   DATE: February 18, 2026  BY: Steven Rubis, Investigative Publisher When a public agency is so desperate to hide its coordination with a private law firm that it violates state law after taking a citizen’s money, the public must ask:  What is in those 944 records? Last week, I paid the "ransom" LCPS demanded for records regarding their coordination with Lindsay Mohler and Troxell Leigh P.C.   The payment was delivered on Thursday, February 12.  Since then?  Silence. LCPS has effectively "ghosted" an investigative journalist.  They have the money.  They have the 944 records.  But they refuse to respond.  This isn't just a delay; it is a Constructive Denial of the truth and a blatant violation of VA Code § 2.2-3704 . The Public-Private Nexus   The constant stonewalling clearly illustrates that the 944 records identified by the LCPS FOIA Office are so damaging to LCPS, ...

  THE PINCER MOVEMENT: How LCPS Bypassed Parental Consent to Facilitate Principal-Level Targeting DATE: February 17, 2026 Last week, a series of events occurred within Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) that should alarm every parent concerned with civil rights, data integrity, and the safety of students with disabilities. What began as a formal legal request for an Administrative Stay ended in the unauthorized transportation of my son, Charles Rubis, and a targeted interaction with a Principal at the center of a federal whistleblower disclosure. The "Information Blockade" and the Scrubbed Record On Monday, February 9, 2026, at 8:00 AM , I served LCPS Leadership, including the Principals of Lowes Island Elementary and Seneca Ridge Middle School, with a formal Revocation of Consent to Transport and an Administrative Stay on all transition activities. Later that evening, I filed a formal Federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Complaint and a VDOE Special Education Complain...

The Ghost in the Machine: Data Deletion, Vendor Bias, and the LCPS Conflict of Interest The Narrative: Today, Friday the 13th, the "Digital Blockade" at Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) took a turn from the administrative to the corporate. At 11:05 AM, the District sent a mass notification admitting that they are currently "extracting and deleting" student data across their systems and the Qlik data platform. For most families, this sounds like a technical update. For a whistleblower and investigative publisher, it is a forensic red flag. The Vendor Conflict The engine behind this data extraction is Qlik —a company I know intimately as a former employee. But the relationship is more than just professional history; it is adversarial. I have documented proof that Qlik previously coordinated with my ex-wife’s counsel, Lindsay Mohler and the firm Troxel Leigh P.C. , to misrepresent my departure from the firm. This coordination was designed to facilitate a legal ...

PUBLIC RECORD: THE DIGITAL BLOCKADE Forensic Timeline of Institutional Retaliation and Record Suppression Date: February 13, 2026 Author: Steven Rubis, Investigative Publisher ( nickcottone.blogspot.com ) Subject: Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) Administrative Conduct EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This document serves as a formal public record of a coordinated "Digital Blockade" implemented by Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) against a joint-custodial parent and whistleblower. Within a 72-hour window, the District has transitioned from standard administrative friction to the manual suppression of safety-critical educational records during a high-stakes school transition. I. THE VDOE FILING (CASE #C26-393) On February 11 and 12, 2026, a formal State Complaint was filed with the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). The Allegation: Violation of 34 C.F.R. § 300.613 (Access Rights) and 8VAC20-81-170 . The Fact: As of February 9, all historical IEPs, clinical evaluations, an...

  LCPS Status Update - Digital Blockade and Missing Records By Steven Rubis | February 10, 2026 I am providing an update on the "Digital Blockade" enacted by Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) regarding my son Charles’s records. Yesterday, I was completely locked out of the Virginia IEP portal. This morning, my access was partially restored, but the folder has been scrubbed. When I log in and click the "Documents" tab, I can only see a progress report from 11/7/25 and a new one from 2/9/26. Everything else—every IEP, evaluation, and legal document dating back to 2022—is missing. The Multi-Year Pattern of Exclusion This is not a technical glitch. It is part of a three-year pattern where LCPS has willfully ignored my joint legal custody rights. I have notified LCPS on numerous occasions in 2023, 2024, and 2025 that the other parent refuses to provide me with school information. Despite my Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA)—which was drafted by Lindsay Mohler of Trox...

Digital Blockade & Federal Intervention The 12-Hour Retaliation Cycle at LCPS By Steven Rubis | February 9, 2026 Today began with a formal notification to Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) leadership regarding administrative fraud and physical intimidation surrounding the unconsented transition of my son, Charles, to Seneca Ridge Middle School (SRMS). What followed was a 12-hour masterclass in bureaucratic retaliation: a digital lockout, ignored pleas for records, and a forced escalation to federal authorities. The 8:00 AM "Strike": Whistleblower Disclosure At 8:00 AM, I served a formal "Notice of Willful Misconduct" to Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence and LCPS Legal. The notice detailed allegations against SRMS Principal Nick Cottone and private counsel Lindsay Mohler. I formally revoked consent for the SRMS transition, citing safety and fraud concerns. 9:18 AM: The Discovery of the Digital Blockade The retaliation was near-instant. By 9:15 AM, I discovered t...