As the date for the Virginia gubernatorial election edges closer, one of the most significant talking points by both candidates is the action of the Loudoun County school board.
The Republican Party’s candidate, Glenn Youngkin, has been capitalizing on this to canvass more support from Virginians. New information has now armed the GOP candidate with more ammo to go after the Loudoun County school board.
An email from the superintendent for Loudoun County Public Schools alerted the school board of an alleged assault in the school on the same day as the one in the headlines.
AT 10!
• The sexual assault cases out of Loudoun County have become a central issue in Virginia’s race for Governor .The Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin is now demanding school board members in Loudoun County resign over their handling of the accusation . pic.twitter.com/9Ou64jpi5O
— Tisha Lewis FOX 5 DC (@TishaLewis) October 25, 2021
In the wake of learning the timing and content of the email, Youngkin has called for the immediate resignation of the Loudoun County school board.
Content of the Email
The superintendent for LCPS, Dr. Ziegler, sent an email to the school board on May 28 to alert them of a possible sexual assault at Stone Bridge High School. The email reads of a female student allegedly being sexually assaulted in the restroom by a male student.
The email also stated the girl’s parents came to the school, causing disturbances by threatening teachers and using profane language. The email finally ended by saying law enforcement was called to help the school with the parents.
LCPS also confirmed the contents of the email. However, it said the email was not detailed enough, as board members always get a report of major incidents happening in schools. Reportedly, the email only said an incident occurred in a general fashion while also noting the investigation is ongoing.
In addition, LCPS said the school board did not receive any specific information before the June 22, 2021 meeting. They also claimed to not have received any other information after the meeting until news on the issue was published.
Moreover, on June 22, Dr. Ziegler said he didn’t know of any assaults in the restroom, despite sending an email stating otherwise. He later apologized by saying LCPS didn’t create a safe environment for students.
Youngkin Wants Heads to Roll
Glenn Youngkin doesn’t want apologies from Scott Ziegler or the school board. Instead, he wants resignations from the Loudoun County school board and superintendent Scott Ziegler over the revelation of the email.
Youngkin said the email only confirms what everybody knows. He said it shows the school board was covering up the incident of sexual assault.
Youngkin demands resignations from Loudoun County School Board in wake of bombshell email | Fox News this entire board and super should resign #ASAP as should clinton bagman @TerryMcAuliffe https://t.co/gMzAuw3Yzr
— #FJB Lets Go Brandon —Andrew Managh (@AndrewManagh) October 24, 2021
The GOP candidate said the school board tried to hide the incident from parents and the public by moving the boy to another school. He noted they endangered other students by doing so, as the boy is being prosecuted for sexual assault in his new school.
He said the board was highly negligent, and they must resign. In addition, Youngkin noted he couldn’t fathom how members of the board who haven’t resigned would go to the next school board meeting.
Furthermore, Youngkin said the county prosecutor, Buta Biberaj, was complicit in what happened. This is because the prosecutor wanted jail time for the father of one of the victims after he spoke up at the June 22 meeting.
Youngkin didn’t spare the Department of Justice or the attorney general of Virginia in his spat. He said the attorney general should have launched an investigation into what happened and made sure everybody involved was brought to justice.
He also said the DOJ should not have directed the FBI to investigate a trend of violence at school board meetings. Youngkin said the DOJ was only acting on the school board’s request, trying to silence parents.
