Repost from The Virginia Star.
Governor Glenn Youngkin wants the whole Loudoun County School Board (LCSB) to run for re-election this year instead of just two of its members, and has amended a bill from Delegate David Reid (D-Loudoun) to make that happen.
“The last few years just absolutely signified some real challenges with the Loudoun County School Board. And so in the spirit of transparency and accountability, my amendment gives parents the ability to elect their school board. This election can reflect the will of parents, and it’s a chance with my amendment to do that right now, this November,” Youngkin said in an interview with 7 News DC.
In February, Reid told a House Education subcommittee that 2021 legislation creating staggered elections in the LCSB didn’t allow enough time to give candidates notice of if they’d be running for a two-year or four-year term to start the staggered process. HB 1138 changed from March to January 2023 the date for the drawing to determine which districts would fall under a given cycle in the 2023 LCSB elections. The bill passed out of the General Assembly with only Delegate Dave LaRock (R-Loudoun) voting against it in the subcommittee. LaRock later voted for the bill to pass out of the House.
Youngkin’s amendments will require all nine LCSB members to run again this year, and then the staggering will begin after another LCSB election in 2023, with four members running for four-year terms, and five members for two-year terms. After those terms are served, there would be biennial elections for four-year terms, alternating between the two groups.
Reid blasted the amendments in a press release: “This is another attempt by some Republicans to subvert our democracy and hold it hostage to a right-wing minority. The members of the Loudoun County School Board were elected to serve four-year terms and they should be allowed to serve the full duration of their terms – that’s why we have scheduled elections.”