New LCPS School Board member hopeful changes can be made

New LCPS School Board member speaks up

FOX 5's Sierra Fox spoke with a new Loudoun County Public School Board member about the recently released Special Grand Jury report that sent shockwaves through the school district.

ASHBURN, Va. - Ever since the Loudoun County Public Schools Special Grand Jury report was released, revealing the school system mishandled two sexual assault cases last year, the school board has been pretty quiet.

There was a work session Tuesday, and parents said there was one school board member who they feel hit the nail on the head.

Tiffany Polifko is a Loudoun County mother herself. That's why she wanted to be on this school board because she understands the frustration of parents, and believes there's a lot that needs to be fixed with the school system.

"What I’m concerned about is whether or not we’re actually going to get to the bottom of what needs to fundamentally change in Loudoun County Public Schools," Polifko said. "In my personal opinion, I’m one of nine, I can only speak for myself. We need a leadership change because we saw a failure in the last 18 months with the two horrific sexual assaults that occurred."

Report on Loudoun County Public Schools released following special grand jury investigation

Earlier this week, the school board used the work session to discuss the eight Special Grand Jury report recommendations to improve the school district, but Polifko doesn't think that was enough.

She wants to have more engaging conversations with her colleagues, instead of just rewriting policies and cleaning up the language.

Polifko believes there is a lot more to do to fix the failure within the school system, but she admits to FOX 5 that there is no hard set date yet.

2 LCPS officials indicted appear in court

Two LCPS officials who were indicted by a special grand jury appeared in court for the first time Tuesday.

Loudoun County parents have come up with their own list of recommendations they want to see, including new leadership. At this time, Polifko does not have any indication if any school board members plan to resign or not return.

LCPS School Board appoints interim superintendent at emergency meeting

When asked whether she believes her colleagues need to step down due to the bombshell report, Polifko deflected and said she isn't comfortable speaking about that right now.

"I can only speak for myself," she said. "I can’t speak for other school board members."