"Open Loudoun Schools" Rally Planned For Monday Evening

LEESBURG, VA — Parents and community members plan to host an "Open Loudoun Schools" rally outside of the Loudoun County Government Center on Monday evening. The rally intends to pressure the county's school board to reopen schools as they propose their budget to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.

The Loudoun County School Board has already voted to return students of all grade levels to classrooms part-time, as part of a hybrid learning model. Under the current plan, elementary school students would return to classrooms for two days a week by Feb. 16. The hybrid learning program would expand to middle and high school students by March 3.

Monday's rally intends to "hold LCPS accountable," according to the event's Facebook page. The page's description also notes that the rally's participants are "sending a message to both boards that it's time to open our schools and keep them open."

The Loudoun County School Board has not approved or proposed a plan to send children back to school on a full-time basis.

See also: School Board 'Cowards' For COVID Closures: Loudoun Man Says

Currently, the Loudoun County School district has 33 staff members quarantining from COVID exposure and 15 active COVID cases among staff members, according to the Loudoun County Public School's website. The website also notes that the number of positive cases among staff and students decreased last week.

The CDC uses core indicators to represent the risk levels of different areas. Loudoun County is currently considered "highest risk" for transmission in schools by two CDC core indicators. The core indicators use the number of new cases per 100,000 residents over a two week period and the percentage of positive COVID tests reported by the area.

Loudoun County reported 667 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days. The county also reported a positivity rate of 11.5 per cent on COVID-19 cases over the last two weeks.

More than twenty people have said they will be attending the rally on the event's Facebook page. Multiple Loudoun County parents plan to speak at the event.