Loudoun County School Board member who sparked parents’ protest resigns

Loudoun County School Board member Beth Barts, who angered local parents with her online activism against them, resigned from the board Friday, effective Nov. 2.

“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,” Ms. Barts wrote to fellow board members in the Virginia county.

Ms. Barts, first elected to the board in January 2020, became embroiled in a political scandal when it became known she was involved with a Facebook group called “Anti-Racist Parents of Loudoun County.” Members of the Facebook group allegedly collected information about local parents who opposed the district’s work on equity.

Loudoun County Parents launched a petition effort that was filed in court on Aug. 25 to remove Ms. Barts from her school board post. The case was still in its early stages at the time Ms. Barts announced her resignation.

Loudoun County parent and Fight for Schools Executive Director Ian Prior responded to Ms. Barts’ resignation by saying that it could not have been an easy decision for her.

“We have made known our displeasure with her actions as a school board member over the past several months, but today she has done the right thing. Her former colleagues should take notice. The community should know, however, that the problems at Loudoun County Public Schools and on the school board go well beyond one school board member,” he said.

“We will continue to shine a light on Loudoun County Public Schools and will keep fighting until we have a school board of common sense, non-partisan members and a superintendent who is accountable to parents and tells the truth,” Mr. Prior added.

News about Ms. Barts’ resignation Friday night came as a victory for activists who sounded off against the Loudoun County School Board’s policies related to curriculum on race relations, vaccine mandates and mask-wearing.

“This is a victory for parents and students in Loudoun County. It also serves as an example for the nation of what a parent-led movement can do. Beth Barts not only doxed families across her own district, whom she claimed to be protecting, but also promoted a divisive, anti-American curriculum that teaches children to divide each other by immutable characteristics,” Laura Zoc of Freedom Works for America said in a statement.

Loudoun County Public Schools announced the school board will appoint a qualified voter of the Leesburg District to fill the vacancy left by Ms. Barts.