On May 20th, the Orange County Board of Education met, and without notifying the public or allowing the community to comment, voted to leave the Virginia School Boards Association. Member Darlene Dawson said she had attended a VSBA event and was not happy.
“They lobby for many things that I, on principle, stand against," she explains. "If you try to disagree with them they will shut you down. I’ve seen it happen. I’ve listened to recordings where they mock our governor and anyone who holds a conservative viewpoint, which I’ve been very clear that I do.”
Member Jack Rickett argued the association was important and useful.
“When Richmond has policies and laws that are enacted, the VSBA goes through those and helps us update our policies and procedures to make sure that we’re not legally liable.”
Member Sandy Harrington agreed, but the two were outnumbered. Two weeks later, about 30 district residents showed up to share their views, and sparks flew.
“Please don’t make comments. Please don’t talk when I’m talking! I didn’t talk when you were talking,” one man told a woman who shouted her objections during his public testimony.
“You’re ignorant!” she replied, as the chair pounded her gavel and called for order.
County resident Marcia Landau cheered the decision to ditch the VSBA -- blaming the organization for what she called indoctrination of students.
“Allowing teachers to hide from parents the news that Susie comes to school and announced that she’s now Billy," she said. "The VSBA gets its marching orders from the powerful teachers’ union – you know the one that shut down our schools, masked our kids, promotes CRT, DEI and the transgender craze.”
Gun rights activist Paul Moog argued the association was backing bills that had nothing to do with education.
“As part of their leftist agenda, they want anywhere they meet to be a gun-free zone, which is ridiculous.”
And Donna Pugh said it was time to get back to a basic curriculum.
“Can we start with what the old timers used to call the three Rs – the readin’, the writin’, the ‘rithmetic? Can we do that? And can I include cursive writing? They need to learn how to write cursive!”
Those who favored leaving the VSBA suggested they could rely, instead, on a relatively new conservative group called the School Board Members Alliance, but citizen Sara Jaeger thought the SBMA a poor substitute.
“It was created about a year ago. They have no lawyers on staff. They don’t even have an official office," she said. "The VSBA has been around for 118 years. They help with superintendent searches, strategic planning services, provide $50,000 worth of insurance for lawsuits filed against the school district -- lawsuits that surely will arise when this school board’s policies invariably break state and federal law. “
And Kris Nelson came from Warren County with a warning.
“Since leaving the VSBA our district has faced a massive increase in legal fees. We had to turn to a private law firm, where they charged us $14,000 for just one policy and a paragraph to rewrite. And that’s just the beginning. We needed eight policies rewritten.”
Charlotte Wood thought board conservatives were out of touch with today’s kids.
“Our three particular members seem to prefer our students of 2024 live in the era of 1924 where students who identify as LGBTQ- plus must remain in the closet where they are not seen or heard, where they must hide in fear of bullying, violence and death, where critical thinking is something to be feared, because how dare the individual think outside the box.”
She warned that walking away from a mainstream professional association would make it harder for Orange County to hire good teachers and vowed to campaign against the conservative majority in the next election. In the meantime, Marcia Landau said those who were unhappy would have to make a choice.
“You can throw tantrums and threaten fantasy legal action. You can home school or use private schools. You might consider relocating to a community more in line with the views you hold, or you can find a way to deal with the majority and compromise.”
The VSBA did not respond to our request for an interview after Rockingham County joined Orange and Warren in leaving the group, but in a recent editorial the association’s Southwest regional chair, who says she is a Republican, insists the group is not partisan and has never lobbied on controversial issues.
