On Dec. 13, the Loudoun County School Board met at the LCPS Administrative Building to discuss the grand jury report regarding the sexual assault incidents and five action items, including the Capital Improvement Program. 

 The meeting began with Vice Chair Ian Serotkin (Blue Ridge District) reviewing the eight recommendations given to LCPS regarding their response to sexual assault incidents. He emphasized the progress and actions by the school board to prevent such events from occurring in the future “did not start today.” Acting Superintendent Daniel Smith directed conversation as each recommendation was discussed.

In May 2021, a male student sexually assaulted a female student at Stone Bridge High School, but was still allowed to transfer to Broad Run High School, where he later sexually assaulted another student in October of that year. Former LCPS Superintendent Scott Ziegler and the LCPS team has received backlash from their handling of the case, with opponents pushing that they refuse to conduct proper investigations and take concrete measures to prevent future events.

As a result, the LCPS School Board unanimously voted to fire Ziegler on Dec. 6 after thoroughly discussing the grand jury report during a two-hour closed session.

During a closed session board of supervisors meeting and this vote, a Board of Supervisors meeting was happening at the same time. LCPS Chair Phyllis Randall (D-At Large) directly called out Ziegler’s behavior. “Let me say this as clearly as possible: Dr. Scott Ziegler needs to be fired,” she said during the Dec. 6 Board of Supervisors meeting. “I’m not dancing around this. We had a young woman violently raped and another one assaulted, and this was for all intents and purposes, on his part, a coverup,” Randall said.

On Dec. 8, 2022, the school board named Smith LCPS’ interim superintendent after serving as LCPS’ chief of staff. Board of Education Chair Jeff Morse (Dulles District) said to WJLA that Smith’s past experience working in LCPS will allow for a smooth transition. “During his brief tenure with LCPS, Dr. Smith has earned the school board’s trust in what has been a very difficult time for the school division,” Morse said.

The board considered and reviewed five action items during the remainder of the meeting. These include Fiscal Year 2024 – Fiscal Year 2029 Capital Improvement Program (CIP), Capital Asset Preservation Program (CAPP) budgets, Secondary School Attendance Zone Changes, Policy 8260, Policy 7314, and the English Language Arts Textbook/Resource Adoption Recommendations. 

In previous school board meetings, LCPS Chief Operations Officer Kevin Lewis presented the Fiscal Year 2024 – Fiscal Year 2029 CIP. On Dec. 13, the board voted on passing the FY 2024 – FY 2029 Capital Improvement Program. The CIP budget explains further details regarding new building requirements, restoration or replacement of existing school facilities. The total cost of the FY 2024 – FY 2029 Capital Improvement Program is $1.3 billion. 

The board also passed the Capital Asset Preservation Program Budgets (CAPP), which is the fund for maintenance and replacement of school facilities. The projects require maintenance and/or replacement of facilities every ten years. The total cost for FY 2024 including Capital Projects and the CAPP is $165 million. 

Policy 8260, Reporting of Student Conduct, presented by the Discipline Committee was not passed and was sent back to the committee for review. 

The next school board meeting will take place on Jan. 10.