https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10097271/I-look-forward-simpler-life-Member-woke-Loudoun-School-board-RESIGNS.htmlWoke Loudoun County schools $275K-a-year superintendent APOLOGIZES for 'failing to protect' female student, 15, from rape by 'boy in a skirt' in the girls' bathroom: He refuses to quit but board member resigns
Loudoun County Superintendent Scott Ziegler remains in his job despite growing calls for him to resign
He spoke at a press conference on Friday to apologize for failing to keep kids safe
He promised sweeping changes to procedure, and told families: 'My heart aches for you'
Beth Barts, 50, resigned from the woke Loudoun County school board on Friday
She said it was the 'right decision for her and her family' and that she was looking forward to 'a return to a simpler life'
On June 22, Ziegler told a room full of angry parents the school had never received a report of a sexual assault in a bathroom involving a trans kid
Four weeks earlier, Scott Smith's daughter had reported being raped by a boy in a skirt to her teachers
The school board insists it didn't know about the reports when Ziegler made the comment
By Jennifer Smith, Chief Reporter For Dailymail.Com
Published: 20:25, 15 October 2021 | Updated: 06:57, 16 October 2021
The superintendent of the woke Loudoun County school board has apologized for 'failing' to ensure the safety of students and prevent the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl by a boy 'wearing a skirt' in the girls' bathroom. Scott Ziegler spoke finally on Friday about the explosive May 28 incident, in which the 15-year-old girl told teachers she had been raped by a boy who accessed the girls' bathrooms under the school board's progressive transgender bathroom policy. He did not resign as parents had requested and instead apologized for 'misleading' them on June 22 when he told a crowded meeting that there had been no sex assaults on campus by transgender kids, and that predatory transgender people 'do not exist.' 'I regret that my comments were misleading and I apologize for the distress they caused families,' he said.
'To the families and students involved, my heart aches for you. I am sorry that we failed to provide the safe, welcoming and affirming environment that we aspire to provide. We acknowledge and share in your pain and we will continue to offer you support to help your families through this trauma,' he said.
Ziegler's apology came as Beth Barts, a board member, resigned. Barts, 50, resigned on Friday in a press release that she posted on Facebook, saying it was the 'right decision for her family.' 'While I look forward to a return to a simpler life of volunteer service, I will miss my office hours and the conversations I had with so many of you in our community,' she wrote.
'Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from the Loudoun County School Board effective November 2, 2021. This was not an easy decision or a decision made in haste. After much thought and careful consideration, it is the right decision for me and my family.'
Ziegler, who is paid $295,000 a year, remains in his job despite growing calls for him to resign. Ziegler has not commented on Barts' resignation. The school board has been routinely accused of pushing an ultra-liberal agenda on kids and parents and silencing those who disagree with them. One of their proposed policies is that kids be allowed to use whichever bathroom or locker room that correlates to the gender they choose on any given day. Angry parents have protested against it. In May, the 15-year-old daughter of Scott Smith reported to teachers that she'd been raped by a boy 'wearing a skirt' who was allowed into the girls' bathroom under the policy. The school Stone Bridgesays it reported the incident to police but the school board which covers all of the schools in the district claims none of its members knew about it until the girl's father went public this week in the media. On June 22, Ziegler told a crowded meeting full of angry parents that there had been no reports of any transgender sexual assaults in the bathrooms. Now, Smith says he intends to sue. The boy who allegedly raped his daughter also allegedly attacked another girl at a different school in the district. He is in juvenile detention now awaiting his next court date. On June 22, Ziegler, said: 'To my knowledge, we don’t have any record of assaults occurring in our restrooms.'
He then went further, calling it a debunked theory that a transgender person is more likely to sexually assault a cisgender person, and that the 'predatory trans person does not exist.' 'I think it’s important to keep our perspective on this, we’ve heard it several times tonight from our public speakers but the predator transgender student or person simply does not exist,' he said.
On Tuesday, furious parents and one 14-year-old student attended a meeting where they called for Ziegler's resignation. 'This is not China, this is the United States of America, and we will not be silenced.'
'Remove the superintendent immediately and then resign for your negligence and duplicity. End this nightmare!' one mother fumed, according to videos obtained by Fox News.
'Your moral compasses are busted! You, Dr. Ziegler, and our school board every one of you are complicit in these crimes against our children because you did nothing about it, nothing. What is worse than a child being raped at school? The cover-up by those who are trusted with the safety and well-being of children.'
'Today, Scott Ziegler must resign for the unconscionable act of allowing an alleged rapist back into school to rape again, and for that coverup,' another said.
'I am 14 years old, the fact that I have to be here defending my rights to not have your radical agenda shoved down my throat in school is not only concerning, it's upsetting. My peers and I are not tools to further your political agenda,' said Katie Young, the 14-year-old student.
'We warned you about policies that you were putting into place that would be a danger to our students, and we've seen that happen. When is enough enough? When are you going to change the policies to keep our children safe?' a father said.
The alleged behavior is exactly the type that parents said they were worried about at the June 22 meeting. They argued against the proposed rule that all kids could choose what bathroom to use. 'Criminal investigations of Timothy Flynn, Scott Ziegler and Brenda Sheridan seem warranted for covering up the anal rape of a 9th grader and intimidating the victim’s father,' tweeted one person.
A spokesman for the school board told DailyMail.com on Wednesday morning that he was unaware of the allegations even though the school reported them to police because the police were still investigating. He would not comment on whether or not he plans to resign, nor would the school board comment on the incidents. 'Members of the Loudoun County School Board were not aware of the specific details of this incident until it was reported in media outlets earlier this week. We are unable to locate any records that indicate that Scott Smith had registered in advance to speak at the June 22, 2021 board meeting,' the spokesman said, citing privacy laws as reason for not giving more details. The rape allegations were first revealed on Tuesday by The Daily Wire. Loudoun County's Sheriff's Office later corroborated them with DailyMail.com.
Smith told The Daily Wire that his daughter was raped on May 28 but that the school did nothing, choosing instead to handle it 'internally.' The woke school board has been pushing a liberal agenda throughout the year, to the horror of many of the parents and teachers in the community. The school didn't tell the police what had happened to the girl, but they reported Smith to the authorities for making a scene. He and his daughter then went to the cops themselves. At the June 22 meeting, Smith said he wanted to tell the room of angry parents and teachers that Ziegler was lying, and that the very type of assault they said they feared had happened to his daughter. Before he could, he was taken out of the room by sheriff's deputies. The 48-year-old plumber was ridiculed on social media afterward and was painted by the left to be a deranged, right-wing bigot. 'It has been so hard to keep my mouth shut and wait this out. It has been the most powerless thing I’ve ever been through,' he said in his interview with The Daily Wire.
He appeared on The Ingraham Angle on Fox News on Tuesday to explain that he spoke out after learning the same boy had been arrested again for allegedly assaulting a different girl. 'Within half an hour, it was confirmed that yes, this did happen. I basically said that’s it. I won’t stay quiet anymore.'
A spokesman for Ziegler told Fox News yesterday that 'as soon as' the incident happened in May, police were notified and the school is 'cooperating.' Smith says the school 'washed its hands of it.' The school board has not yet responded to the demands for Ziegler to resign or for his deputies to resign. He assumed the role of superintendent in June this year after informally taking over in January following the resignation of Eric Williams. Williams left the area to go and work in Houston, Texas, as tensions in Loudoun County reached a boiling point. The liberal school board embraced Ziegler, a former teacher and chaplain who only started working in the county in 2019. Williams never released an explanation for his departure. Smith and his wife say their legal costs are mounting with the combined cases. A GoFundMe page that was set up to help them has raised more than $52,400.
