Loudon County superintendent fired after student rape case inquiry

According to the Loudon Times-Mirror, Ziegler was fired by a unanimous vote during a closed-door meeting with the Loudon County School Board (LCBS).

"After reading the grand jury report, there was no option left," Loudoun County Board Chair Phyllis Randall said in an interview after learning of the School Board's action.

Ziegler, the leadership of LCPS, and the LCBS were accused of lying to cover up two sexual assault cases that happened at two different schools by the same student last year, and have been facing calls since then to resign.

On May 28, 2021, a girl was sexually assaulted in the women's bathroom at Stone Bridge High School by a male student. This student was temporarily detained in July of 2021, but was released and transferred to another school within the district. Then on October 6, another sexual assault by that same student took place at Broad Run High School.

The Special Grand Jury into Loudon County Schools released their report on Monday detailing the LCPS's handling of the assaults, finally putting into writing exactly what the parents had believed all along.

"We believe that throughout this ordeal LCPS administrators were looking out for their own interests instead of the best interests of LCPS. This invariably led to a stunning lack of openness, transparency, and accountability both to the public and the special grand jury. There were several decision points for senior LCPS administrators, up to and including the superintendent, to be transparent and step in and alter the sequence of events leading up to the October 6, 2021 BRHS sexual assault. They failed at every juncture," the report said.

"The sexual assault at Broad Run High School could have been prevented and LCPS is to blame for the incident and the transfer of the student from Stone Bridge High School and Broad Run High School."

The firing of Ziegler after over a year of complaints comes with some emotional ambiguity for the parents who have been calling for this action for over a year, including some who thought about pulling their children out of the LCPS.

"We put [our kids] little backpacks on every day. We pack their lunches, we hug them and kiss them goodbye," LCPS mother Lauren Shernoff, who is also employed by the school board, told WJLA. "The one thing we want to count on is that our school system and the leadership is really working overtime to make sure that the things within their control are done well and always have safety first."

"And now that's been shattered," she adds. "So, what do we do next? We can't trust the leadership in charge."