Critical race theory is ‘designed to divide’: Douglas Murray
‘The Madness of Crowds’ author reacts to Virginia parents pushing back against CRT in Loudoun County
Parents in Loudoun County, Virginia, received an earful from school board Chair Brenda Sheridan, who refused to back down from controversial equity trainings and suggested opponents had engaged in "dog-whistle politics."
"Tonight, the Loudoun County School Board meeting was interrupted by those who wish to use the public comment period to disrupt our work and disrespect each other," said Sheridan on Tuesday.
"Dog-whistle politics will not delay our work. We will not back down from fighting for the rights of our students and continuing our focus on equity."
Her comments came at the end of a contentious school board meeting during which Sheridan and other board members left the room over a purported lack of decorum.
"Public comment is not only welcome, but encouraged, during school board meetings," she said.
"The start time for tonight's meeting was even moved earlier to accommodate the anticipated volume of speakers. In fact, 259 speakers signed up to address numerous issues on the agenda tonight. This time should have been used for community members to share their views with the board and the public. Even after numerous attempts to ask for decorum, so everyone could speak, those attending insisted on continued interruptions in an attempt to delay and disrupt the proceeding. These politically motivated antics ought to end. But if they don’t, know that they won’t delay our work."
The school board superintendent was the one who declared the meeting an unlawful assembly, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office told Fox News.
On Wednesday, Sheridan faced sharp backlash from parents in Loudoun.
Ian Prior, who leads the Fight for Schools PAC, told Fox News: "Over 10,000 Loudoun parents, grandparents, and taxpayers have signed petitions to remove a majority of school board members. As parents, we have done our homework, have seen how our children are being taught and their teachers are being trained. Those school board members continue to ignore the voice of the unsilent majority and deny what we all know - Loudoun County Public Schools is not a welcoming environment for students, parents, and teachers who put excellence in education before political activism in schools."
For months, Loudoun parents have been showing up to school board meetings to protest what they see as racially divisive ideas in school trainings and materials. Both that debate and one over gender have raised questions about free speech in the county. Loudoun County Public Schools is currently pursuing an appeal against teacher Tanner Cross, who refused to "affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa because it's against my religion."
VIRGINIA'S LOUDOUN COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD SILENCES PUBLIC COMMENT AFTER RAUCOUS MEETING, 2 MEN ARRESTED
After Cross' suspension, the school board faced a wave of backlash at a meeting earlier this month.
Alluding to the controversy, Sheridan said: "During the month of June, Virginia recognizes Pride Month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQIA community and the progress we have made to be inclusive of all Loudoun County residents. I am proud of all of our students and I stand with them."
Parent Elizabeth Perrin asked: "What does it say when progressives view ‘their work’ as more important than parents, students, rule of law, and the First Amendment?"
Mother Elicia Brand told Fox News that "Sheridan’s statement is disappointing and one sided, as most of the taxpayers, from both party affiliations and all races, in the room were there as parents to advocate for all children to have the highest standard of education, free from politics in the classroom, compelled speech, loss of agency, applied shame or fear of persecution … All the families in the Loudoun County community matter, but the Board does not seem to acknowledge that. I believe we have more in common than we don’t. If the Board was not here, I believe we would find common ground with peace. We need to do that for the sake of our children, as they are all valuable and important."
Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) declined to provide further comment. Spokesman Wayde Byard maintained, however, that "[t]he school division and School Board respect all viewpoints."
Although LCPS has denied teaching critical race theory (CRT) or adopting it as a framework, recently surfaced information has indicated the opposite.
For example, Fight for Schools PAC, an anti-CRT group in Loudoun, obtained an invoice showing that the district's diversity consultancy billed it for "Coaching support for LCPS leaders - follow up meetings focused on Critical Race Theory Development May 2020." That was billed at $625 per hour for five hours, or $3,750. LCPS did not respond to a request for comment on this.
More recently, school board member Beth Barts acknowledged that portions of CRT "probably" influenced the district's policies.
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Regardless, Sheridan suggested the anger directed at CRT was misplaced.
"I support differing opinions and spirited debates," she said. "I want us all to have productive discussions about making our schools the best they can be. That’s why I ran for the school board in the first place. But opponents of the school board who are pushing false stories about ‘Critical Race Theory’ have severely hurt our ability to do the jobs we were elected to do."
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