n LOUDOUN
Pg. 4 | n LEESBURG
VOL. 6, NO. 47
Pg. 8 | n EDUCATION
Pg. 10 | n OBITUARIES
Pg. 22 | n PUBLIC NOTICES
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Pg. 26
OCTOBER 14, 2021
Hoyler Tapped for School Board Seat BY HAYLEY BOUR
hbour@loudounnow.com
Hayley Bour/Loudoun Now
Scott Smith said that after his daughter was allegedly sexually assaulted at Stone Bridge High School, he was unable to get answers about the investigation from the school district.
Parents, Students Press for Reform in Schools’ Handling of Sexual Assaults BY HAYLEY BOUR
hbour@loudounnow.com
Photos of Loudoun County father Scott Smith being led away bloodied and in handcuffs made national news when the June 22 School Board meeting erupted into chaos amid the culture war protests of parents battling then-proposed transgender protections and fears about Critical Race Theory. The boardroom was cleared after Chairwoman Brenda Sheri-
dan (Sterling) determined the crowd was too rowdy to continue with public comment. But, Smith said, amid the high-profile battle between conservative and progressive parents playing out in the boardroom, his altercation and ultimate arrest had little to do with the School Board’s agenda for the meeting. Smith, a Leesburg-based plumber, was attending his first School Board meeting with his wife, Jess. Less than a month
prior, on May 28, the Smiths say their daughter was sexually assaulted in her Stone Bridge High School bathroom by a fellow student. “I went at the spur of the moment after I finished up a work job down the street, to go see the circus I’ve been seeing on the news. We weren’t going to protest or anything,” Smith said. Smith said the student who assaulted ASSAULTS continues on page 13
The School Board has appointed Andrew Hoyler, the late Leslee King’s opponent in her previous election, to fill her Broad Run District seat. Hoyler in a 2014 graduate of Briar Woods High School, and spent 12 years as a student in the district. “I think I bring a fresh voice. This board has been through a lot these last couple months and I think [I’m] someone who comes in with a fresh mind, fresh ideas, someone who’s a voice of compromise,” Hoyler said after taking the oath of office Tuesday night. “Hopefully bring some of the different opinions together HOYLER continues on page 33
Hayley Bour/Loudoun Now
Andrew Hoyler has been appointed to fill the Broad Run District seat on the School Board.
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