By Jared Serre – Published March 19, 2026 at 3:45PM

A former chair of the Fairfax County School Board’s budget committee will return to the panel after a judge tossed out a complaint accusing him of embezzling $175,000 from a company he was a part owner of.

Kyle McDaniel, who served as the budget committee chair for 10 months before stepping down last April, is expected to be appointed vice chair of the committee when the school board meets tonight (Thursday), according to the meeting agenda.

The vice chair position opened up following the resignation of former Braddock District representative Rachna Sizemore Heizer, who chaired the budget committee until her election to the Board of Supervisors in December. Sully District Representative Seema Dixit, previously the committee’s vice chair, then took over as chair.

If approved by the school board, McDaniel’s appointment will come nearly four weeks after a Loudoun County judge granted a demurrer in the case brought against him by Blue Label Aviation (BLA), with the judge ruling that the company’s claim that McDaniel misappropriated funds lacks the validity to continue.

In a statement to FFXnow, McDaniel expressed relief at the outcome and reasserted that he has “never stolen from BLA.”

As some of you may know, last year, my former business partners with Blue Label Aviation (BLA) filed a lawsuit against me claiming that I stole money from our company.  A few weeks ago, in the first ruling addressing the legal merits of the case, a judge dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that the claims of embezzlement and fraud brought by BLA were legally baseless.

In response to BLA’s lawsuit, I have filed a $2 million claim against BLA because my former business partners have attempted to take back my shares and my father’s shares in BLA without paying us any compensation.  They claim BLA is a worthless company, yet it has reported millions in annual revenue and assets.

I have never stolen from BLA.  I believe this dispute was initiated by my former partners to gain corporate control over BLA without paying the costs required to gain such control. Despite any accusations to the contrary, this is a typical business dispute that could be resolved with a professional accounting providing a fair valuation of BLA’s stock.

This lawsuit has been very difficult for me and, more importantly, for my family. I am grateful to my wife for her love and support, to my friends for their encouragement, and to my community for your continued trust in me as a public servant.

Under the demurrer, however, BLA was granted the ability to amend its complaint. It ultimately did so, filing an amended document with the court one week after the judge’s ruling, according to online court records.

James P. Magner, the attorney representing BLA, told FFXnow today that the litigation remains active.

Blue Label Aviation, Inc.’s lawsuit against Kyle McDaniel was neither dismissed nor resolved. On Feb. 20, 2026, the Loudoun Circuit Court granted [McDaniel]’s demurrer with leave to amend the complaint. The Second Amended Complaint was filed on Feb. 27, 2026, and is very much active. The issue was a legal distinction between a claim for “embezzlement,” which is a criminal code section, and “conversion,” which is the civil equivalent of theft and embezzlement.

[BLA] disagreed with the Court’s interpretation as merely a distinction without substance, but nonetheless refiled the suit as a claim for conversion as directed by the Court.

The company’s initial complaint, which was filed last March, claimed that McDaniel — then the company’s treasurer and secretary — had been charging personal expenses to the company’s credit card and bank account.

McDaniel was accused of racking up $120,000 in unauthorized expenses, misappropriating funds to cover family vacations, strip club visits and more, according to court documents. The complaint also alleges that McDaniel’s unauthorized expenses rose to $160,000 after an audit was conducted in 2024.

It is unclear if any school board or county officials led their own investigation into the allegations against McDaniel, who has served as an at-large member of the board since 2024. A request for comment sent to Sandy Anderson, who chairs the school board, was not returned by press time.

The school board is also slated to approve committee appointments tonight for Tom Dannan, who was elected on March 3 to succeed Sizemore Heizer as the board’s Braddock District representative.

After getting formally sworn into office prior to the 7 p.m. meeting, he will likely be appointed to the school board’s comprehensive planning and audit committees. The board also intends to designate him as its liaison to the Advisory Committee for Students with Disabilities and to Fairfax County’s Successful Child and Youth Policy Team.