Court Rejects Open FCPS Coalition Petition To Recall School Board Member

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — A Fairfax Circuit Court judge issued an order Wednesday dismissing a case brought by the Open FCPS Coalition to remove Fairfax County School Board member Laura Jane Cohen from office.

The Open FCPS Coalition, a group of Fairfax County parents formed during the COVID-19 pandemic in support of in-person learning, filed a petition in December to recall Cohen, the Springfield District member on the Fairfax County School Board.

The coalition had secured over 8,000 signatures, more than the required amount needed for the recall to go to a judge.

“This dismissal is long overdue,” Cohen said in a statement Wednesday. “In fact, it was a case that never should have been filed in the first place. Elected officials cannot be recalled because of differences of opinion. We have elections to decide who should represent us on school boards.”

Cohen, who has served on the school board since December 2019, said there was never any legal basis for the recall petition and that it was “all politics driven by massive dark money contributions and even paid signature gathering.”

A Fairfax Circuit judge dismissed the petition at the request of a court-appointed special prosecutor, who said the petition was “not based on facts sufficient to show probable cause for removal.”

SEE ALSO: Recall Petition Submitted For Springfield School Board Rep

In its recall petition, the Open FCPS Coalition stated that Fairfax County Health Director Gloria Addo-Ayensu advised the school board on July 21, 2020, that it was safe to operate in-person learning.

In his motion to dismiss the petition, the special prosecutor said this statement was not factually supported. "Neither the Fairfax County COVID-19 Update presented by Dr. Addo-Ayensu nor her testimony and responses to board members' questions show any such statement having been made at the July 21, 2020 school board meeting," the special prosecutor found.

In a statement Wednesday, Fairfax County Democratic Committee Chair Bryan Graham applauded Fairfax Circuit Judge Richard Gardiner and the special prosecutor, Goochland County Commonwealth’s Attorney D. Michael Caudill (R), for “basing their decision to dismiss by looking at the facts of the case; of which, none support removal from office.”

In its petition, the Open FCPS Coalition claimed "neglect of duty, misuse of office or incompetence in the performance of duties" in Cohen's 2020 vote to keep schools closed for in-person learning. Any registered voter who lives in the Springfield District could sign the petition.

But throughout his motion to dismiss the petition, Caudill found that the allegations made by the Open FCPS Coalition against Cohen were "not factually supported."

This was the second petition filed against a school board member by the Open FCPS Coalition. A petition to recall Dranesville District School Board member Elaine Tholen received more than 5,000 signatures. That petition was dismissed in August.

The Open FCPS Coalition has received significant funding contributions from former Republican gubernatorial candidate Pete Snyder and N2 America, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing “center-right policies” in the suburbs.

While supporters said the recall effort was driven entirely by local parents gathering signatures, campaign finance records show tens of thousands of dollars were spent on paid signature gathering, Cohen said.

RELATED: Recall Petition Against Dranesville School Board Member Dismissed