Loudoun County Public Schools recall, Virginia (2021-2022)

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Loudoun County Public Schools recall
Officeholders
Beth Barts Denise Corbo Leslee King Atoosa Reaser Ian Serotkin Brenda Sheridan
Recall status
1 Resigned; 2 dismissed in court; 3 did not go to court
Signature requirement
Barts: 1,176 Corbo: 10,785 King: 1,234 Atoosa Reaser: 1,213 Ian Serotkin: 2,179 Sheridan: 803
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2022 Recalls in Virginia Virginia recall laws School board recalls Recall reports

An effort to recall six of the nine members of the Loudoun County Public Schools school board in Virginia resulted in one resignation. No board members were removed from office through the recall process.

The recall effort began in 2021. At-large representative Denise Corbo, Algonkian District representative Atoosa Reaser, Blue Ridge District representative Ian Serotkin, Broad Run District representative Leslee King, Leesburg District representative Beth Barts, and Sterling District representative Brenda Sheridan were named in the recall petitions. All six members were supported by the Loudoun County Democratic Committee in their last elections. The effort against King ended after her death on August 31, 2021, and the effort against Barts ended with her resignation effective November 2, 2021. The recall efforts against Reaser and Sheridan were dismissed by a judge appointed by the Virginia Supreme Court on May 23, 2022. Recall supporters did not file petitions against Corbo or Serotkin in 2021 or 2022.

Recall supporters said they launched the effort due to school board members' involvement in a private Facebook group. They said the board members' involvement in the group was a violation of Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act as well as the school board’s Code of Conduct because the members discussed public matters in a private setting. Recall supporters also alleged that the district was using critical race theory in its employee training and student curriculum, which they opposed. Recall supporters called it a divisive experiment that had created a culture of bullying and divided the community.

The district denied using critical race theory. Interim Superintendent Scott Ziegler said the district used a culturally responsive framework that “speaks to providing a welcoming, affirming environment and developing cultural competence through culturally responsive instruction, deeper learning, equitable classroom practices and social-emotional needs for a focus on the whole child.” The NAACP Loudoun Branch filed a motion to intervene in the recall hearings for Sheridan and Reaser in January 2022. “My view is, if you’re going to let Fight for Schools in to talk about Critical Race Theory, you need to let the NAACP talk about equity,” Charlie King, an attorney for the group, said.

Corbo, Reaser, Serotkin, King, and Barts were first elected to four-year terms on the board on November 5, 2019. Sheridan was re-elected to the board in the same election. She assumed office in 2011.

Recall supporters

The recall effort was sponsored by the Fight For Schools political action committee (PAC). The PAC was led by Ian Prior, who previously worked for the Department of Justice under the Trump administration and for the National Republican Congressional Committee. The following reasoning behind the recall was included on the group's website:

“

Over the past year, Loudoun County Public Schools has become a national story for its implementation of critical race theory. This divisive experiment has resulted in attempts to silence dissent, it has divided the community, and created a culture of bullying in students, teachers, school administrators, and school board members. In March of 2021, six members of the Loudoun County School Board were part of a private Facebook group that planned to target parents for opposing critical race theory in the school system. Those school board members did nothing to stop this activity nor did they attempt to communicate to their constituents that this was happening. Meanwhile, the school administration sends out public statements about "silencing the opposition," debates firing teachers for providing negative feedback on critical race theory training, proposes unconstitutional dress codes, and refuses to honestly communicate with the public about its implementation of critical race theory. With school board elections not held until 2023, it is imperative for parents to act now, recall these school board members, and hold new elections that will decide the future of education for our children.

”

Recall opponents

Interim Superintendent Scott Ziegler said the district used a Culturally Responsive Framework that “speaks to providing a welcoming, affirming environment and developing cultural competence through culturally responsive instruction, deeper learning, equitable classroom practices and social-emotional needs for a focus on the whole child.” He said the district did not use critical race theory in its staff training or student curriculum.

Sheridan filed a motion to dismiss the recall petition against her after it was filed with the circuit court. She said the voters had repeatedly supported her and that she intended to finish her term on the board.

Reaser said the recall was not about removing her as an official. She said it was about taking rights away from the thousands of citizens who voted her into office. She said the process should be used to remove officials for neglect of duty, misuse of office, conviction of crimes, or incompetence. “None of which are remotely applicable to me,” Reaser said.

The NAACP Loudoun Branch filed a motion to intervene in the recall hearings for Sheridan and Reaser. “My view is, if you’re going to let Fight for Schools in to talk about Critical Race Theory, you need to let the NAACP talk about equity,” Charlie King, an attorney for the group, said.

Barts' attorney filed a motion to dismiss the petition against her since it was not signed by an attorney. He also asked the circuit court judges to recuse themselves from the case because it involved local officeholders.

Serotkin called the recall effort against him frivolous. “There is no merit to the allegations against me, and I look forward to my recall petition being dismissed whenever it is filed,” he said.

A group called Loudoun For All formed a political action committee in response to the recall effort. "There is no reason equity in our schools should be this controversial," Rasha Saad, president of Loudoun For All, said in a statement.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Virginia

Virginia requires recall petitions to be signed by residents of the official's jurisdiction equal in number to 10% of the votes cast in the last election for that office. The number of signatures required on each petition was as follows:

• Barts: 1,176
• Corbo: 10,785
• King: 1,234
• Reaser: 1,213
• Serotkin: 2,179
• Sheridan: 803

If enough signatures were collected, a trial was held at the circuit court level. At the trial, recall supporters had to "demonstrate the officer engaged in neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance."

The petitions against Sheridan and Reaser were filed on November 9, 2021, and November 18, 2021, respectively. The Loudoun County Board of Elections certified enough signatures for the efforts to advance in the circuit court. The board certified 1,158 signatures against Sheridan and 1,783 signatures against Reaser.

All five Loudoun County Circuit Court judges recused themselves from the recall cases in February 2022. Prior to the recusals, both cases had scheduled pre-trial hearings for February 23, 2022. Sheridan's case had also scheduled a three-day jury trial starting on March 21, 2022. The Supreme Court of Virginia designated a judge to hear the cases. That judge dismissed both cases on May 23, 2022, ending those recall efforts.

Recall supporters filed the petition against Barts with the Loudoun County Circuit Court on August 25, 2021. They said they submitted 1,860 signatures. The hearing on the petition against Barts was scheduled to be held on September 13, 2021. After Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge Stephen E. Sincavage recused himself, the hearing was rescheduled for September 15, 2021. At that hearing, Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge Jeanette A. Irby said she would not recuse herself as she knew none of the school board members and had no children in the school district. Irby scheduled a pre-trial hearing on motions for the case for October 5, 2021.

On October 5, 2021, the circuit court judge ruled that the petition against Barts could advance to a full trial. The judge also granted the recall petitioners' request to appoint a special prosecutor. Stafford County Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Olsen (R) was appointed to serve as the special prosecutor. Barts announced her resignation before the trial was scheduled to begin on October 25, 2021. The court dismissed her case on December 17, 2021.

About the district

Loudoun County Public Schools is located in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Loudoun County Public Schools is located in Loudoun County, Virginia. It is classified as a large suburban school district by the National Center for Education Statistics. The district served 81,906 students during the 2018-2019 school year and comprised 92 schools.

During the 2018-2019 school year, 17.7% of the district's students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 11.1% were English language learners, and 11.3% of students had an .

Racial Demographics, 2018-2019
Race	Loudoun County Public Schools (%)	Virginia K-12 students (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.5	0.3
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander	22.2	7.1
Black	6.7	22.2
Hispanic	17.3	16.2
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	0.1	0.2
Two or More Races	5.5	5.7
White	47.7	48.4

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

2022 recall efforts

See also: School board recalls

Ballotpedia tracked 54 school board recall efforts against 123 board members in 2022. Recall elections against school board members were held on January 11, 2022, January 18, 2022, January 24, 2022, February 15, 2022, March 29, 2022, April 4, 2022, and November 8, 2022. The school board recall success rate was 7.3%.

The chart below details the status of 2022 recall efforts by individual school board member.

2021 recall efforts

See also: School board recalls

Ballotpedia tracked 92 school board recall efforts against 237 board members in 2021. Recall elections against 17 board members were held in 2021. The school board recall success rate was 0.42%.

The chart below details the status of 2021 recall efforts by individual school board member.

See also

• Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia
• Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia, elections (2019)
• Loudoun County Public Schools elections (2015)
• Recall campaigns in Virginia
• Political recall efforts, 2021
• Political recall efforts, 2022
• School board recalls

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Loudoun County Public Schools