|
Nova Guynes
The Loudoun County Public Schools board fired Superintendent Scott Ziegler shortly after the release of a state grand jury report that blasted school leaders for their handling of two sexual assaults by the same student last year — and that called Ziegler a liar.
The board fired Ziegler via unanimous vote shortly after a 2½-hour closed-session meeting Tuesday night, according to school video posted online. Loudoun schools spokesman Wayde Byard confirmed the firing in an interview Wednesday morning but declined to characterize the board’s rationale, including whether the termination was a direct response to the grand jury report.
Ziegler and school officials have faced intense criticism from parents for their response to the sexual assaults, which took place in May and October of 2021. In particular, officials have been maligned for their decision to transfer the student assailant from one high school, where he assaulted a student in a girls’ bathroom, to another high school, where he assaulted another student in a classroom.
The controversy in Loudoun erupted onto the national scene in the fall of 2021 after Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) repeatedly condemned the school district in his gubernatorial campaign. The assaults also became entangled in a broader, highly contentious debate over the rights of transgender students at school.
The student assailant was wearing women’s clothing during the first assault, which initially began as a consensual encounter in a bathroom. That May assault came a few months before the Loudoun system adopted a policy allowing transgender students to use bathrooms that match their gender identities. The policy was not in effect at the time of the assault, and there is no evidence to suggest the male student is transgender. Nonetheless, some — especially conservative activists, parents and politicians — have pointed to the Loudoun assaults as an argument against letting transgender students use bathrooms that match their gender identities, a contention that has drawn rebukes from LGBTQ rights advocates.
Byard said he did not know whether the Loudoun board intended to fire any other staffers. He said he also did not know what steps the board would take to respond to the grand jury report. The report is slated for discussion at the board’s next public meeting, scheduled for Tuesday.
As superintendent, Ziegler earned $325,000 a year following a $30,000 raise in June. For suffering “termination without cause,” Ziegler should receive a severance package totaling 12 months’ salary, paid out in monthly installments, according to a copy of his employment contract obtained by The Washington Post. Byard confirmed Wednesday that Ziegler was terminated without cause but declined to confirm details of the former superintendent’s severance package, noting that the school system has not yet released that information.
Grand jury report condemns Loudoun schools’ handling of sex assaults
The grand jury report had concluded that Ziegler was informed about the May assault on the day it happened but that he later lied about his knowledge of the event during a board meeting the following month. When asked by a board member whether Loudoun had records of “assaults in our bathrooms or in our locker rooms regularly,” Ziegler replied with a falsehood, the report states.
Ziegler said, “To my knowledge we don’t have any record of assaults occurring in our restrooms.” A witness told the grand jury that this statement was a “baldfaced lie.”
|
KEEP THEM COMING!!.png)
I PRAY FOR JUSTICE
FOR THEM ALL...AND I DO MEAN 'JUSTICE'
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)
.png)
.gif)
spamBlocker.gif)
.gif)
NOW FIGURE OUT HOW I MANAGED THAT.