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Prince William School Board meeting cleared due to unruly crowd

Jared Foretek

September 16, 2021, 1:04 AM

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This article was written by WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.

A chaotic Wednesday night at the Prince William County School Board meeting ended with the board unanimously approving a vaccine or testing mandate for all division staff as well significant changes to its citizen comment procedures.

For a time, it was unclear if the meeting’s public session would be held. School security and Prince William County police were enforcing a strict 53-person capacity for the public inside the board meeting room, with dozens more people outside trying to get in.

No fights broke out and no arrests were made, but security staff faced off with people trying to get into the meeting room and sporadic shouting matches took place inside the meeting room among the public.

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Members of the public hold signs and sit spaced apart before the Prince William County School Board meeting on Sept. 15, 2021. (InsideNova/Jared Foretek)

Some at the Prince William School Board meeting Wednesday night held signs in opposition to “critical race theory,” one of the topics that led to the demonstrations in Loudoun. Division leaders have said it isn’t being taught in local schools. {Babur B. Lateef, M.D., Chairman At-Large, Prince William County school board) told InsideNoVa that the decision to clear the building was a “security call” suggested by the security personnel inside.

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