LCPS board meets in the wake of special grand jury report

WASHINGTON - Parents showed up in numbers at Tuesday night's Loudoun County school board meeting, the first scheduled since the release of a scathing special grand jury report.

The 90-plus page grand jury report was at the center of conversation Tuesday as a room full of students, teachers and parents has words for the school board. 

"Let the curtain fall on this evil empire," said Rene Camp.

"There is a lot of dishonesty going on," said Michael Rivera, father of two kids in LCPS. 

The board did hold an emergency meeting last week to name Dr. Daniel Smith as interim school superintendent after Scott Ziegler was fired for mishandling two sexual assault cases in Loudoun County high schools.

Rivera says it's time for the board to rebuild trust with the community, and having Dr. Daniel Smith as the interim superintendent isn't the answer. 

"For someone to believe that the person who was second in command or very close to Mr. Ziegler is going to be different is a false notion."
 

Ziegler was indicted and appeared in court Tuesday, facing several misdemeanor charges. In one indictment, Ziegler is being accused of using his power to retaliate against a special education teacher who reported several sexual assaults by a student.

"I think there is a culture of intimidation and fear towards staff and teachers coming from the administration," said Rivera. 

"Parents have been yelling from the hilltops about all the corruption and things going on in our schools for the last two years," said parent Collin Doniger. 

During the meeting, the school board did discuss the 8 recommendations made by the special grand jury.

"We need to be talking about the real problems here and the elephant in the room," said board member Tiffany Polifko. 

"I think that transparency is important - trust with the community," said board member Erika Ogedegbe. 

One board member even applauded the jury for their work.

"I'd like to thank the grand jury [for] information we would've never had," said board member Atoosa Reaser. 

Loudoun County schools' attorney presented several policy revisions and recommendations for the board to look at.

"There are a lot of policies that need to be changed," said Camp. 

But some parents say it's going to take more than policy.

"A lot more bureaucracy and policy aren't going to change the culture," said Rivera.