Fight for Schools PAC Executive Director Ian Prior told the Loudoun County School Board on Tuesday that the group had submitted a new recall petition against Board Chair Brenda Sheridan. The new petition includes highlights from the months of controversy in the district.
“We told you this wasn’t about an election. And we’re still here. And we’re here with a petition for the removal of Chairwoman Sheridan. And it’s not the old petition. This is a new petition, drafted about two-and-a-half weeks ago, and we completed this in 13 days, over 1,200 signatures. And this petition has on it things like violating the first amendment rights of speakers and listeners in this board room. Remaining in the private Facebook group while people were plotting a disruption at Leesburg Elementary to keep Tanner Cross on administrative leave. And doing nothing and allowing a now-convicted sexual offender to go into a different school where he then committed another alleged sexual assault,” Prior said.
Prior told Fox News that Fight for Schools has also collected enough signatures on recalled petitions against Vice-Chair Atoosa Reaser, Ian Serotkin, and Denise Corbo.
Fight for Schools had previously filed a petition to recall Member Beth Barts, who suddenly announced her resignation in mid-October. On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that Barts’ resignation was due to fears for her and her family’s safety after receiving threatening and abusive messages for months.
Barts’ resignation was a surprise win for Fight for Schools, since recall efforts in Virginia often fail.
A recall petition must have signatures from voters of the official’s district; the total number required is ten percent of the number of votes that originally elected that official. Then, the petition is submitted to a judge.
The Commonwealth’s attorney, not the petitioners, carries the case forward. In Virginia, the legal reasons for recalls are not focused on policy, but on misconduct and crime. That creates several points where recall petitions usually fail: something can be technically wrong with the petition or its wording, the Commonwealth’s attorney could decide not to prosecute it, or the judge could decide not to remove the official after trial. Since the petitioners aren’t part of the case, they don’t have any chance to appeal.
“I said we’d see you in court. As of 3:30 today, we are now in court,” Prior told the board.
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Loudoun Public Schools Building” by Loudoun County Schools.
