Loudoun Parents for Education (LPE) is launching a recall effort targeting six out of nine school board members as the latest in a conflict between parents and school leadership. On Tuesday, LPE launched the Fight for Schools PAC to engage in campaign-style efforts to change the school district, according to Fox News.
Groups of parents, leaders, and activists have blasted Loudoun County Public School (LCPS) efforts like equity training for teachers, de-emphasizing Dr. Seuss, and proposed policies that could have curtailed teacher’s free speech on private social media. In response, some members of a Facebook group of parents, leaders, and activists allegedly called for infiltration and hacking of anti-critical race theory groups.
LPE leader Ian Prior said that the six school board members Beth Barts, Denise Corbo, Leslee King, Atoosa Reaser, Ian Serotkin and Chairwoman Brenda Sheridan were part of the Facebook group.
He said in a press conference on March 23, “In 2019, when the school board election was held, the pandemic and curriculum issues that we are talking about were not a major point of discussion, but they clearly have become so. Adding the fact that six of the nine school board members were part of this group, there’s really only one option: a campaign to recall those six school board members, a campaign that [LPE] begins today.”
Prior did not say how many signatures would be needed to recall the school board members, but according to Ballotpedia, Virginia recalls require signature of at least 10 percent of the number of people who voted in the last election of the recalled official. That’s a high bar for many recall efforts, and the signatures must be from registered voters from within the jurisdiction of the recalled official.
On Wednesday, Prior appeared on The Larry O’Connor Show. Speaking about school leadership, Prior said, “They’ve mostly been operating in the shadows, they’re not responsible to parents, they’re not having any kind of town hall where they could ask questions.”
Prior said the PAC would use ads, mailers, polling, and other traditional campaign activities. He said, “If we’re successful with recall efforts, we will be looking for candidates that are committed to educating children not as part of some socially constructed demographic, but as individuals with their own stories to tell.”
On March 21, LCPS Interim Superintendent Scott Ziegler said in an LCPS video, “In explaining LCPS’ equity priorities, it might be helpful to explain what they are not. They are not an effort to indoctrinate students and staff into a particular philosophy or theory. What they are is an effort to provide a welcoming, inclusive, affirming environment for all students.”
He said assessments begun in 2019 revealed a need to address learning barriers. “These barriers included race, poverty, learning disabilities, academic expectations, and discipline practices. Of these five factors, the assessment identified race as the most prevalent problem. Areas where LCPS was found to need improvement included accountability, hiring practices, and professional development.”
Ziegler said the district’s response included professional development training.
“Concepts such as white supremacy and systemic racism are discussed during professional development. LCPS has not adopted critical race theory as a framework for staff to adhere to,” Ziegler said. “Social media rumors that staff members have been disciplined or fired for not adhering to the tenets of critical race theory or for refusing to teach this theory are not true.”
Ziegler said that there wasn’t a uniform equity curriculum, but the district does use a culturally responsive framework to provide deeper learning, equitable classroom practices, and meet students social-emotional needs.
In the March press conference, Prior said, “We will put these issues to the people in a civil and productive way and let them decide what kind of school board they want.”
He said, “We will make Loudoun County a laboratory of democracy to inspire parents across the country.”
“Disagreement and debate through civil means is the way to progress in this country,” Prior continued. “Unfortunately too many on either side of the debates have chosen to take the path of righteous anger to try and force their views on others no matter the cost.”
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network. Email tips to [email protected].
