Closing arguments begin in retaliation case involving former LCPS superintendent
LEESBURG, Va. - The trial of a former Loudoun County superintendent is nearing its end, with both the commonwealth and defense team for Scott Ziegler officially resting their cases.
Closing arguments began just before 5 p.m. Thursday, with the commonwealth reiterating to the jurors that the Loudoun County Public Schools district had a "culture of fear" and retaliation for employees who spoke up for themselves. In this case, the employee at the center of the trial is a former special education teacher who Ziegler is accused of retaliating against and firing unlawfully after the employee testified before a special grand jury.
The special grand jury had been investigating how Loudoun County Public Schools handled two sexual assault cases in 2021 when Ziegler was in charge.
The employee testified this week that she came forward a year after the 2021 incidents about a situation of her own when one of her non-verbal students inappropriately touched her on more than one occasion.
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During closing arguments Thursday, a prosecutor urged the jurors to pay attention to the documented review dates.
"This isn’t about student discipline," he said.
The commonwealth pointed to March 2022 comments on the teacher, who was named the special education of the year in 2021. In March 2022, the teacher received positive reviews about her work amid discussions with staff about the student’s inappropriate touching. The student was later removed from her class that same month.
The teacher testified before the special grand jury on April 26. Also in April, emails presented in court show Ziegler reached out to the district’s human resources inquiring whether the former teacher was "probationary," meaning she could be fired without cause.
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Former Loudoun County Superintendent Scott Ziegler walked into the courtroom Thursday with his attorney, hoping that the judge would dismiss charges against him.
The former teacher received negative reviews in May about her work pertaining to the student who had already been removed from her class. Her contract was not renewed in June 2022.
"It’s not a coincidence," the commonwealth claims.
Some of the defense’s final witnesses Thursday were Loudoun County School Board members, one of whom served as school board chair in 2022. He testified that he does not remember ever conversing with Ziegler about this teacher or her employment status.
As of this writing, the defense had not completed its closing arguments for the jury.