Loudoun County School Board chair accuses parents objecting to CRT of pushing 'dog-whistle politics'

Loudoun County School Board Chair Brenda Sheridan, who refused to back down from imposing controversial equity trainings, said that opponents are engaged in "dog-whistle politics."

"Tonight, the Loudoun County School Board meeting was interrupted by those who wish to use the public comment period to disrupt our work and disrespect each other," said Sheridan on Tuesday. "Dog-whistle politics will not delay our work. We will not back down from fighting for the rights of our students and continuing our focus on equity."

Her comments came at the end of the board hearing which Sheridan stormed out of complaining about a lack of decorum. "Public comment is not only welcome, but encouraged, during school board meetings," she said.

"The start time for tonight's meeting was even moved earlier to accommodate the anticipated volume of speakers. In fact, 259 speakers signed up to address numerous issues on the agenda tonight. This time should have been used for community members to share their views with the board and the public. Even after numerous attempts to ask for decorum, so everyone could speak, those attending insisted on continued interruptions in an attempt to delay and disrupt the proceeding. These politically motivated antics ought to end. But if they don’t, know that they won’t delay our work."

All of the commotion caused the school board superintendent to declare the meeting an unlawful assembly, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office told Fox News.

Ian Prior, who leads the Fight for Schools PAC, told Fox News: "Over 10,000 Loudoun parents, grandparents, and taxpayers have signed petitions to remove a majority of school board members. As parents, we have done our homework, have seen how our children are being taught and their teachers are being trained. Those school board members continue to ignore the voice of the unsilent majority and deny what we all know - Loudoun County Public Schools is not a welcoming environment for students, parents, and teachers who put excellence in education before political activism in schools."

Parents in Loudoun County, Virgina have been showing up for mouths to voice their concerns and protest the school board's radicalism including Critical Race Theory and transgender ideologies. Loudoun County Public Schools is currently pursuing an appeal against teacher Tanner Cross, who refused to "affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa because it's against my religion." Cross was suspended which only prompted more backlash towards the school board.

Mother Elicia Brand told Fox News that "Sheridan’s statement is disappointing and one sided, as most of the taxpayers, from both party affiliations and all races, in the room were there as parents to advocate for all children to have the highest standard of education, free from politics in the classroom, compelled speech, loss of agency,  applied shame or fear of persecution."

Loudoun County School Board denies Critical Race Theory is being taught in classrooms, but evidence seems to contradict that. Fight for Schools PAC, an anti-CRT group in Loudoun, obtained an invoice showing that the district's diversity consultancy billed it for "Coaching support for LCPS leaders - follow up meetings focused on Critical Race Theory Development May 2020." That was billed at $625 per hour for five hours, or $3,750.