Huge Win for Parents as Loudoun County School Board Member Beth Barts Resigns

Yesterday, a group of parents gathered in front of the Loudoun County Public Schools headquarters and called for the immediate resignation of any school board member who had knowledge of an alleged sexual assault at one district high school and failed to take steps to prevent a second alleged assault at a different high school.

Today, school board member Beth Barts tendered her resignation, effective November 2nd. Which, by the way, is an election day here in Virginia. In a statement posted on social media by the school board, Barts wrote:

“Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from the Loudoun County School Board effective November 2, 2021. This was not an easy decision or a decision made in haste. After much thought and careful consideration, it is the right decision for me and my family.”
This is a huge victory for the parents — and students — of Loudoun County. Ms. Barts has been embroiled in one controversy after another, beginning with (but not limited to!) her involvement with the odious “The Anti-Racist Parents of Loudoun County” Facebook group. If you’ll recall, the members of this group, Barts included, were caught organizing a harassment campaign against county parents who voiced opposition to any form of Critical Race Theory being taught in public schools.
Barts was censured by the school board and removed from her committee assignments for her unprofessional behavior on social media. She was also the subject of a recall campaign by the Citizens of the Leesburg District, who claimed that Barts’ “neglect of duty, misuse of office, and incompetence in the performance of her duties” necessitated her recall.
Just last week, a judge appointed a special prosecutor from a more conservative county in Virginia to oversee Barts’ recall case. Did this precipitate Beth Barts’ resignation? Did she see the writing on the wall?
Fight for Schools, the parent-led group at the forefront of efforts to clean up Loudoun County Public Schools, tweeted their response to Barts’ resignation:

“This could not have been any easy decision for Ms. Barts. We have made known our displeasure with her actions as a school board member over the past several months, but today she has done the right thing. Her former colleagues should take notice.The community should know, however, that the problems with Loudoun County Public Schools and on the board go well beyond one school board member. We will continue to shine a light on Loudoun County Public School and will keep fighting until we have a school board of common sense, non-partisan members and a superintendent who is accountable to the parents and tells the truth.”

One thing is clear here: the power and the momentum are with the parents. This is what happens when you stop ceding ground to the other side and start going on offense.

 

Tags: Education, Virginia

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