Dr. Kim Mehlman-Orozco came out swinging against Prince William County School Board Chairman At-Large Dr. Babur Lateef during the first, and so far, only debate in the race to lead Virginia's second-largest school division.
The author and research scientist who has appeared on the Fox News Channel proved to be a tool for the Prince William Education Association, which is engaged in collective bargaining with the school division for higher teacher pay. Throughout the hour-and-a-half debate, Mehlman-Orozco demanded teachers be paid more and offered little opinion or insight into the other questions posed to all three candidates.
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Amy Ashworth was on the ropes for most of a political debate between her and challenger Matt Lowery, each vying to run the Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney's Office.
The incumbent Ashworth (D) has been taking heat from Lowery (R), a career prosecutor who worked for Fairfax, Prince William, and Spotsylvania counties, turned defense attorney for the increased rate of violent crime in Prince William County -- up 70 percent since 2019, the year voters chose Ashworth to be top county prosecutor.
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“I believe we have one of the greatest school systems in the country, and I’ve been proud to serve as chairman of the school board. We have made significant improvements in student success, safety and security, space and infrastructure, and salaries.”
But, has he and the other Democrats on the PWC school board actually made significant improvements to Prince William County Public Schools?
In terms of graduation, the division’s on-time graduation rate dropped to a new six-year low. His COVID policies led to a learning loss that sent math scores tumbling farther than others in elementary and middle school and seemingly lasting into high school. Last year, just 50% of the division’s graduates met college readiness benchmarks in math, down 54% from the previous two years.
We watched Babur Lateef shut down parents’ concerns and tell us exactly who he believes has the preferred pecking order:
“God, Teacher, Parent….in that order.”- Babur Lateef.
Parents come last. Hear his comments here.
When a FOIA request was processed regarding text messages from the School Board, the findings were disturbing. In tweets with Katie Olsen-Flynn, Babur Lateef said:
“Well, I have always said that, and I have maintained CRT is what we are doing here. I am trying to get to the vote as quickly as possible. I don’t believe in transparency or public discussion.”
When Lateef was asked about his comments, he replied:
“It was a joke,” and as far as the parents who attended the school board meeting expressing concerns over what their kids were being forced to learn and mask mandates, Lateef replied:
“I think a lot of people just wanted a YouTube moment of them getting dragged out.”
Does this sound like a leader who is interested in working with parents?
The school board, led by Lateef, also tried on several occasions to limit public comment time at a point when parents began objecting to the new policies pushed by the Democrat-led school board.
Lateef did not hesitate to support mask mandates in schools under Governor Northam (D), yet when a Republican Governor changed the policies, he joined forces with other Northern Virginia school boards to obtain restraining orders in order to maintain mask mandates in schools.
Now, when Governor Youngkin has changed policies on boys in girls’ showers, bathrooms, and sports, Lateef chooses to ignore the new policies. Why did Lateef and his fellow Democrats on the Prince William County School Board only decide to follow orders from a Democratic Governor? I thought the school board was supposed to represent our schools in a nonpartisan manner.
Babur Lateef, chairman of the Prince William County School Board, tells WTOP, “We are looking at the legal implications of the new VDOE rules. But let me make one thing crystal clear. All students come first in Prince William County Schools regardless of their race, religion, or gender, or sexual orientation.”
While Lateef would not go so far as to predict his jurisdiction — or a group of Northern Virginia school boards — would sue the Youngkin administration, this would not be the first time they had joined forces. In February, an Arlington County judge granted seven Virginia school districts a restraining order against Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s ban on mask mandates.
And of course, we cannot forget the comment made by Maria Burgos, Director of PWC Office of Equity and Inclusion, when asked about Critical Race Theory and Marxism in Prince William County Schools:
“When You understand a Marxist Framework then you’ll understand how it’s used in education.”
Listen to her comments here.
Isn’t it time to change leadership on the Prince William County School Board? Shouldn’t parents be partners in the school system? Yet under the so-called leadership of Babur Lateef, it has become obvious that he and the other Democrats on the board are determined to shut parents out when it comes to the education of their children.
It’s time for change.
Leigh Bravo
Gainesville
Potomac Local News aims to share opinions on issues of local importance from a diverse range of residents across all our communities. If you’ve recently spoken at a Board of County Supervisors meeting, send us a typed copy of your remarks for publication to [email protected].
Ann Wheeler’s anxiousness to schedule a vote on the controversial Prince William Digital Gateway rezoning before the Planning Office has even completed its review is hardly surprising. She has been in the tank for this project from the outset, and her blatant subservience to corporate masters was largely responsible for her electoral defeat.
Now shift the focus to her accomplices, who have thus far evaded the same level of accountability.
The transformation of Prince William County into northern New Jersey cannot be completed without the willing assistance of Wheeler’s four obedient sidekicks: Kenny Boddye, Margaret Franklin, Andrea Bailey and Victor Angry. Is there an independent thought among them? What will they do without their den mother?
And what about our new County Executive Chistopher Shorter? Was he hired to serve the people or enable our lame duck chair’s undemocratic tactics? He’s got just a few months to show us before he answers to a new Board that may have a very different view of his expected role.
As for our volatile Planning Office, you’d need a scorecard to tell who’s running what on any given day. That’s less their fault than the leadership they’ve been saddled with, but it is long overdue for a planner with backbone to emerge and assert some degree of professional integrity. They are clearly being rolled over.
Will we trade the tenuous promise of tax reductions for a county no longer worth living in? Those with means will flee, but those tied here by jobs, families and limited resources will be stuck living in the Wheelerites’ new industrial wasteland.
Bill Wright
Gainesville
Potomac Local News aims to share opinions on issues of local importance from a diverse range of residents across all our communities. If you’ve recently spoken at a Board of County Supervisors meeting, send us a typed copy of your remarks for publication to [email protected].
Republicans surrounded Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin during a visit to Juke Box Diner in Manassas on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.
Youngkin helped cook breakfast and talked with diners during the 8 a.m. visit, using it to stump for Bill Woolf, who is running for the Senate District 30 seat in western Prince William County.
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Prince William Circuit Court Judge Kimberly Irving tossed out a challenge from Maria Martin, a Republican who was unhappy about the results of a recount of her June 20 Primary Election loss to Nikki Rattray Baldwin.
Martin argued that one of her election observers witnessed a ballot that may have been improperly marked and that the observer could not review the vote. However, the observer was not a recount official; Irving stated that chosen campaigns before the July 21, 2023, recount occurred and had no right to challenge the ballot.
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Press Release: "Senator Tim Kaine will join Mayor Derrick Wood for a roundtable with veterans at TSI, a veteran-owned IT service provider, in Dumfries to discuss their experiences in the community and issues they’re facing."
This will take place Wednesday, August 2, 2023.
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InsideNova: “An unsuccessful candidate in the 19th District House of Delegates primary claims the results were illegitimate and has asked that Democratic leaders nominate her instead, a move that party operatives say they’re legally unable to do.”
“Woodbridge resident and former FBI employee Makya Little lost her party’s nomination to Prince William County Historical Commission member and Woodbridge native Rozia Henson by 49 votes.”
“However, she claimed Democratic Party leaders in Prince William and Fairfax counties violated “party rules in a manner that manipulated voters to ensure their desired outcome.”
Meanwhile, Maria Martin, a Republican seeking the 29th District Virginia State Senate seat in Prince William and Stafford counties, is appealing her appeal for a recount, saying she’s unhappy about the recount process.
The recount upheld Nikki Rattray Baldwin’s two-vote victory over Martin in a June 20, 2023, Republican Party Primary Election.
Maria Martin lost the Republican Primary Election to her opponent Nikki Ratray Baldwin by two votes.
A hand recount of ballots cast of more than 16,000 ballots in Prince William and Stafford counties for the GOP nomination for the Virginia Senate 29 seat completed Friday, July 21, 2023, confirms the result.
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"A two-day recount, performed by election officials in both Prince William and Stafford counties, showed unchanged results from the June 20 primary: Baldwin won with 2,605 of the votes cast, while Martin garnered 2,603, Prince William Registrar Eric Olsen said in a phone call Friday night."
![Matt Lowery [Photo: Mike Beaty]](https://www.potomaclocal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Lowery-mike_beaty_photo-1.jpg){kind=link}