x
Breaking News
More () »

Fairfax school board votes on resolution against sexual misconduct

McElveen said he will consider asking the board to make a public apology to the girls who were sexually harassed on that Lake Braddock basketball team.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- A new hard-line resolution against sexual misconduct was approved Thursday night by the Fairfax County school board.

At-large Board Member Ryan McElveen proposed the areas's largest school system lead "a culture change."

"The resolution I hope is going to raise public interest that we're focused on this issue and also raise the awareness of employees and students that this is something we truly believe in Fairfax County," said McElveen.

RELATED: More evidence surfaces against coach in sexual harassment case

The at-large board member who has a Twitter following of more than 304,000 is getting mixed feedback over his proposal for a resolution to educate, confront and stop sexual misconduct in the school system.

One critic is Lake Braddock 2017 graduate Elisa Taylor, now a sophomore at VCU.

"A school is supposed to somewhere where you feel safe. And I feel like that was taken away from us," Taylor said.

She played on the girls varsity basketball team all four years at Lake Braddock, where she and teammate Lizzie Fitzpatrick told the athletic director about their coach, who was sexually harassing them.

In our WUSA9 investigation, we learned that even after school officials were told about the behavior, nothing was done. In fact, that coach kicked Lizzie off the team during the middle of a game in her senior year.

"Nothing was done. And it was kind of just swept under the rug," said Taylor.

OUR INVESTIGATION: Federal investigation into Fairfax County school

After our investigation, Lake Braddock's principal retired, but stayed on as a FCPS employee.

Lake Braddock parent Bill Park, who did his own investigation into the matter, said the school board mishandled the whole case from start to finish.

He said for the school board to gain trust back, they need to be honest about what happened

"The School Board should force the superintendent to come out and admit the missteps that have happened. To admit the overt coverup that occurred through a sham investigation and issue a public apology to the girls," said Park.

RELATED: Lake Braddock principal retiring following federal investigation into sex harassment by coach

Elisa Taylor said she and high school basketball teammates still have open wounds because school officials never acknowledged their pain.

"They didn't come to us personally and say anything to us like, 'oh, we know what you said is true and we are sorry that it happened to you.' Because, now, all of us feel like they just think we're lying. And we just feel stupid for coming forward...None of us have moved past it and we haven't gotten any closure so it's just this open door," said Taylor.

McElveen said he will consider asking the board to make a public apology to the girls who were sexually harassed on that Lake Braddock basketball team.

Before You Leave, Check This Out