The Loudoun County (Virginia) School Board appointed an interim public schools superintendent at an emergency meeting on Thursday night.
Dr. Daniel Smith was chosen to replace Scott Ziegler, who was fired Tuesday after a special grand jury accused him of lying to the board about the sexual assault of a student.
The nine-member board voted 6-1 to install Smith. Two members were absent from the meeting.
Ziegler had been under fire after a student sexually assaulted classmates at two different high schools last year.
"During this time of transition, be assured that I am committed to supporting LCPS [Loudoun County Public Schools] students, staff and the broader LCPS community," Smith said in a statement.
"When I arrived at LCPS this past April, I never imagined such an opportunity to serve the students and this community as your interim superintendent. Though I have not been here long, I value the division's commitment to helping students achieve their dreams, developing exemplary staff, and improving community engagement.
"I pledge to be open to listening to ideas for improvement and creating an even safer and welcoming environment for each and every learner."
Smith said the board will start its search for a permanent superintendent with the goal to have someone in place around July 1, 2023, and before the start of the 2023-24 school year.
Chair Jeff Morse said the board had been misled by the events surrounding Ziegler.
"Obviously, there was some things in the grand jury report that we were unaware of," Morse said after Thursday's meeting, WTOP reported. "They caught us by surprise.
"There was a complete breakdown of leadership. And we know that on the board, we know that our staff knows that. We're going to do everything we can to restore trust."
Some said the school board's firing of Ziegler did not go far enough. Scott Mineo, founder of Parents Against Critical Theory, said the entire school board except Tiffany Polifko — the only board member who opposed appointing Smith — should be removed.
"It would be a first step in proving that this guy is serious and coming in and making changes and be restoring that faith back into the community," Mineo said, WTOP reported.
In June, America First Legal, a conservative group with ties to former President Donald Trump, filed a lawsuit alleging "government-directed child abuse" and "child sexual exploitation" in LCPS.
The suit alleged that Ziegler and the school board promoted secret gender transitions, distributed pornographic books and forced parents to choose between their parental rights and their right to free public education.
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