by Reagan Reese
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Virginia — Parents demanded Loudoun County School Board members resign on Tuesday following the release of a special grand jury report, the Daily Caller News Foundation observed.
Loudoun County parents urged members of the school board to step down and resign over the special grand jury report, which found the district “dropped the ball” on student safety after failing to alert the community of multiple sexual assaults that took place within the district. The comments come after former Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) Superintendent Scott Ziegler was indicted Monday on three misdemeanor charges, including penalizing an employee for a court appearance.
“You and your allies tried and failed to discredit and obstruct the grand jury and then you spiked the football on your own 20 yard line,” a Loudoun County parent said at the meeting. “You chose to be history’s notes. There is no escape from that legacy. You have a choice: unconditional surrender or unconditional surrender.”
Ahead of Ziegler’s indictment, the board noted it was “pleased” that “not a single indictment was filed as a result of this lengthy process.”
Parents criticized the board for voicing its approval that no indictments had been made after the grand jury report.
“You have wasted enough of our time and our money and you have shown that you put politics and agendas above the best interest of our children, putting them in harm’s way,” Elicia Brand-Leudemann, a Loudoun County parent, said at the board meeting. “More indictments will come down and you are all compromised. Shame on you, [Loudoun County School Board Vice Chair] Ian Serotkin for your premature victory lap post celebrating no indictments.”
The grand jury found the district was aware of multiple sexual assaults that occurred within the school district in 2021. The school district failed to tell community members about the assaults because of “privacy concerns” for the students.
“Loudoun County Public School administrators were looking out for their own interests instead of the best interests of LCPS,” the report stated. “This invariably led to a stunning lack of openness, transparency, and accountability both to the public and the special grand jury.”
Earlier in the meeting the school board was presented with eight recommended policy revisions to prevent the mishandling of sexual assaults within the school district by Division Counsel Robert Falconi. In an effort to “increase transparency” as suggested by the grand jury report, a proposed recommendation adds language noting that the school district “should provide as much relevant information to the community about security incidents.”
The board also heard policy revisions to the district’s transfer process, an area the grand jury report recommended be improved; if a student is transferring because of disciplinary action, a policy change would mean a meeting must be held between the administration from the student’s former and future school, the Office of Safety and Security and any necessary outside agencies.
“We are never going away. We’re never going to turn a blind eye,” a parent of Loudoun County school district said at the meeting. “Our children are online. Their education and their future matters. To make a statement, a formal statement no less, an official statement indicating that you’re pleased is disgusting. It is so disgusting. My seven year old was suspended for wearing a mask. You didn’t even suspend the rapist. Do the right thing. Resign.”
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Reagan Reese is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
