Parents of current and future Clifton Elementary students have filed suit against the Fairfax County School Board, charging its members acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” last month when they voted to close the high-performing school.
“The School Board had no interest in any solution which resulted in the school remaining open,” said Elizabeth Schultz, director of Friends of Community Schools, a Fairfax nonprofit organization assisting Clifton parents with their suit.
The lawsuit says the School Board ignored relevant facts and failed to abide by its own guidelines when it voted to close Clifton.
School Board members at the time of the vote said the cost to renovate Clifton was prohibitive.
“It’s unfortunate,” School Board member Elizabeth Bradsher said when asked to comment on the lawsuit.
Bradsher, who represents Clifton’s Springfield School District, was one of the nine board members who voted to close the elementary school. She has since drawn the ire of local residents and parents despite her past efforts to meet with the community to discuss the School Board’s decision.
Clifton parents say Bradsher and other School Board members had made up their minds to close Clifton long before the July vote and the community meetings were designed merely to placate the public.
“I feel like there was a plan in place all along to close Clifton and the whole community engagement process was a show,” Clifton PTA President Patti Hopkins told The Washington Examiner after the School Board vote.
Springfield Supervisor Pat Herrity said it was unfortunate that Fairfax citizens had to resort to the legal system to make their voices heard.
“The fact that the well water was the School Board’s number one reason to close Clifton and then it went away at the eleventh hour … I think the [Clifton Community] has a strong case,” Herrity said.
Herrity was referring to the School Board’s contention that contaminated well water posed a threat to Clifton students.
Dean Tistadt, facilities chief for Fairfax’s public schools, e-mailed water test results to the School Board just minutes before its members voted to close Clifton. Those tests showed Clifton’s water was safe.
At least one School Board member said she understood the Clifton parents’ frustrations.
“We never gave a clear rationale or a compelling reason to close Clifton,” said at-large School Board member Martina Hone, who voted to keep Clifton open.
“I think the board’s actions will destroy a community.”
