LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — The voters have spoken in Loudoun County and what they want is change. Come January, all nine of the LCPS board members will be replaced with brand-new faces.
It was already clear prior to Tuesday night's election that there would be major changes, since only two of the nine board members were running for re-election.
"The community has been saying for a while that what they want is a fresh start, and an opportunity to build the necessary relationship between the administration, the educators and the families in the community," said Anne Donohue Wednesday night.
Donohue won the at large seat, beating Michael A. Rivera.
"I'm very excited, humbled, a little scared," she told WUSA9 Wednesday night.
This is her first dip into political waters.
"I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting started. We do have some tough problems we need to tackle," she said.
LCPS has been in the spotlight for several years, coming under fire after two sexual assaults on campus. The way those cases were handled led to former Superintendent Scott Ziegler getting fired.
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The school board announced Dr. Aaron Spence as the district's new superintendent on June 2 and he officially took over the position on Sept. 1.
"My goals are to come in here and build relationships with this community, build relationships with our staff, lift up our students as the core of our work. We want to make sure our teachers and faculty feel valued and heard as well," said Dr. Spence in an interview with WUSA9 in August.
The new board takes over in January and has their work cut out for them. They'll be tackling a number of issues including gender policies.
"I want students and educators who are part of the LGBTQ+ community to feel included and welcome, and not just tolerated," said Donohue.
Another hot topic in Loudoun County right now, surrounds parental rights. Parents want a say in what kids are learning in the classroom.
"We want parents to be partners in their child's education. Parents absolutely have the right to know what their kids are learning," said Donohue.
She told WUSA9 that "the board and administration needs to do a better job to ensure there's adequate communication, and that it's easy for parents to find the resources when parents want to learn what their students are learning in class".
Another concern for Loudoun County parents right now related to fentanyl.
Over the last three weeks, 10 Loudoun County students have overdosed, four of which happened inside of Park View High School. According to a press release issued by Gov. Youngkin, Loudoun County Public Schools waited more than 20 days to notify parents of the overdoses.
The governor issued a new executive order, directing the Virginia Department of Education to notify all parents of school-related overdoses within 24-hours, work closely with law enforcement, and increase education about the dangers of abusing drugs.
"This is a real problem that we need to deal with," Donohue told WUSA9.
But that she has some concerns about how rapid notification would impact student privacy. She said she'd also be curious to know if the drugs were obtained on school property, and what threats are posed to other students.
Donohue said one of the many challenges the board will face is figuring out how to restore trust between parents and the school system.
She and the eight other newly elected board members start work in January.
This will also be the first year for staggered terms. Instead of four year terms for all districts, the Algonkian, Broad Run, Dulles, Leesburg, and Sterling district representatives will serve two-year terms.