A member of the Goochland County School Board in Virginia is suing her colleagues for defamation, and I hope she wins.

The controversy’s origin is about what you would expect these days. The School Board had a secret policy (that may be at odds with state policy) that allowed boys to use girls’ restrooms if they identified as transgender.

Angela Allen, the board’s vice chairwoman, asked a question of her followers on Facebook: “As a Goochland School Board member, effectively representing your interests is my duty. This week I learned that [Goochland County Public Schools] students are allowed to use restrooms different from their biological sex. Is this our community’s expectation?”

For this, she was censured by the Board, and the censure was incredibly harsh. So harsh, in fact, that Allen considers it defamatory.

A Goochland County School Board school board member asked her constituents on Facebook how they feel about men using the girl's bathroom.

Her colleagues then proceeded to censure her.

Now she's suing them.https://t.co/QvJEdBzH2g

— 1776 Project PAC (@1776ProjectPac) August 15, 2023

I have to say I agree with her on this, despite the fact that in general, I think political speech from any ideological perspective should be given very wide latitude.

After Allen’s Facebook post spread online, large numbers of community members began to attend the county’s School Board meetings to express “their dismay and disapproval of the practice [the Goochland County School Board] has taken regarding student bathroom use,” the lawsuit reads.

At a May School Board meeting, the four other board members censured Allen, which is essentially a public statement of disapproval. According to the lawsuit, it was the first censure in Goochland School Board history.

The censure resolution stated that Allen’s social media post was in violation of the board’s code of ethics, federal law and the U.S. Constitution. It also said Allen is “accountable for disrupting the integrity of the Board, encouraging violation of the law and blemishing the reputation of the board.”

That’s a ridiculous way to describe what she did. “In violation of the board’s code of ethics [revealing a secret policy that the voters should have a say in violates the board’s code?], federal law [which ones, exactly?] and the U.S. Constitution [exactly how? By letting people know what their elected officials are doing?]” Those are grave charges, and they need to back them up.

Basically, her colleagues got pissed off that they were caught trying to break Virginia school policies, getting the parents riled up. Her post didn’t even express an opinion on the matter or criticize the board. People got pissed because of the policy, not what she said.

It seems to me that if you go on a rant against somebody from your official capacity as an elected official, you should be able to substantiate your claims. If you are lying with the intent to harm somebody (in this case issuing a bogus censure) you should be held accountable.

“The defendants made knowingly false statements against Ms. Allen to disparage her reputation all because she exposed a policy they apparently wanted to remain hidden from their constituents,” Allen’s attorney Josh Hetzler said in a statement. “These board members must be held accountable for wrongfully attacking Ms. Allen and for harming her reputation.”

That seems to be an accurate description to me. They also abused their power as elected officials in multiple ways, not the least of which was conspiring to keep parents in the dark about a controversial policy. Demanding that Allen participate in a conspiracy to do so is another.

I am a bit flummoxed regarding why Virginia seems to be ground zero when it comes to insane school boards, although it could be due to the fact that the political elite is far Left, while the population is more evenly split.

In my experience school boards are elected on the backs of teachers’ union support, almost guaranteeing a left-leaning tilt regardless of the electorate’s inclinations. Unfortunately, most people don’t vote in these elections, mostly due to ignorance, while teachers will cast nearly unanimous votes for the union-backed candidates. It takes an awful lot of controversy to break into the public consciousness.

Given that fact, it is a minor miracle that even one sane person got elected to the board, and another minor miracle that she was brave enough to speak up.

As you can see, even the most anodyne comments can bring harsh responses from the Left. All she did was ask “This is what is happening; do you approve?” and she was slandered by her colleagues.

Because they didn’t want anybody to know. Your elected officials at work.