Loudoun County parent Scott Smith told Fox News on Thursday that Zeigler’s termination should be the first of many in the district, after school principal Scott Ziegler was fired for mishandling two sexual-assault incidents.
“My reaction is this: It’s a year too late,” Scott Smith told America Reports. “He should have been fired a year ago. The school board had what they needed, you know, they did an independent investigation … it wasn’t made public, so it’s true that they’re hiding. [the fact] Ziegler didn’t inform them and now they are horrified and they vote unanimously to fire him, they are also responsible.
“So, unfortunately, we’re not celebrating today,” Smith added. “He is one of those who hurt my child and others.”
Ziegler was fired by the school board Tuesday night in response to a grand jury report on two allegations of sexual harassment by a “gender-fluid” student. Smith, a northern Virginia suburb, gained national attention after the school accused the school of covering up abuse and openly transferring a biological male student who wore a skirt when he assaulted a female student in the girls’ bathroom. sexually assaulting another girl.
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Parents protest in Loudoun County, Virginia, June 22, 2021.
(Reuters)
A special grand jury report released Monday agreed that the school “lacked openness, transparency and accountability to both the public and members of the special jury” in how it handled the campus attacks. The report also criticized Ziegler for denying any knowledge of the assault at a school board meeting.
Smith said Loudoun County Public Schools put their own interests ahead of student safety, noting that they had “plenty of time” to fire Ziegler, but chose not to show “negligence.”
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“It was the school board doing the right thing for the wrong reasons,” he said. “They had ample opportunity to do this last year. They know they lied to 400,000 and Loudoun County residents at the June 22nd school board meeting, but they didn’t do it until the pressure got too hot.”
ASHBURN, WA – AUGUST 11: Loudoun County School Board members vote to adopt policy 8040 during a school board meeting on August 11, 2021 at the Loudoun County Public Schools Administration Building in Ashburn, Washington . (Getty Images)
(Ricky Karioti/The Washington Post)
“As far as other administrators, we’re talking about the deputy superintendent, we’re talking about the school district attorney, we’re talking about the director of safety and services, they’re not just on the list of people who have failed, but they failed recklessly, they knew what was going on. They ‘disturbed,’ was a quote, but did nothing.”
Scott was pulled over by police at a Loudoun Country Public School Board meeting in June 2021, when he spoke with Ziegler and other school officials about what to do after his daughter was allegedly sexually assaulted at the school.
“When you see how you were treated, compare it to what Ziegler knew at the time and what he actually said, what went through your mind?” Fox News host John Roberts asked Scott.
“We didn’t have to be there. More than 500 parents, moms and dads tried to understand the radical corruption in our schools. They are still trying to encourage it,” he said.
“One year later, and I’ve been doing this for 18 months, nothing has changed. Absolutely nothing has changed. It’s time for a change,” concluded Smith. “It’s great to shoot Ziggler, but he’s the first one to go.”
Fox News’ Kristine Parks contributed to this report.