Letter to the Editor: School Board Member Says Epstein Statements Are Incorrect

This is a Letter to the Editor from Brad Center – Fairfax County School Board (Lee District)

I was just informed that my name came up at a recent debate for the Dranesville District School Board seat.  I received an audio of that debate and was shocked, surprised and dismayed at what I heard. 

One of the candidates in the debate (Louise Epstein) made some statements that were, at the very least, inaccurate and could very well be considered a distortion of the events surrounding the vote on the grading policy. 

Ms. Epstein basically indicated that I told her that School Board members Janie Strauss and Ilryong Moon would only vote for that change if “I would let them make the motion”.  I never said that.  Let’s get that distortion out of the way upfront. 

I did have a couple of conversations with Louise on this topic (as a Fairgrade representative) and was happy to do so. 

I also talked with other Board Members on this topic and was glad to help further the discussions on this topic but I did not make the statement attributed to me and I have no idea why Louise said that. 

Secondly, I was not Chairman at the time and would have had no way to ensure who would make the motion. 

Third, based on my conversations with Mr. Moon and Ms. Strauss they both planned to vote for this change regardless of who made the motion.  In fact, Mr. Moon publicly stated his support for the proposal a few months prior to actual voting. 

What I said to Louise during our last conversation is that I personally did not need to make the motion and that Janie or Ilryong would probably be doing so. 

While we all worked on this (members of the community, School Board members and staff) I did not feel I needed to make the motion as my constituents in Lee District were not deeply involved in the debate. 

Never did I say that the Mr. Moon and Ms. Strauss would only vote for it if they got to make the motion. 

That is not something I said and it is simply not true.

Brad Center – Fairfax County School Board (Lee District)