'Seriously concerned': School board may sue new far-right chair with alleged militia ties

21 February 2024

A three-member faction on a local school board in Virginia has come under increased scrutiny by both other elected officials and concerned parents, and litigation may be pursued against the board's newest chair.

According to local news outlet WAVY, York County School Board chair Lynda Fairman and two other members — Kimberly Goodwin and Zoran Pajevic — were elected in November 2023 on a far-right "parents' rights" agenda, and have since provoked a "tsunami of discontent" in recent months. WAVY reported that during a recent work session, board members James Richardson and Mark Shafer publicly voiced their opposition to their new colleagues' latest actions, which include allegedly sending a militia group to a local school to record a sex education session.

"What really concerns me, majorly, is that board members have been notified by our board attorney that the board may be liable because of retaliation claims made by the superintendent. This could open the board and division up to possible litigation," Richardson said. "I’m seriously concerned about that."

Fairman was accused of sending a militia group to Dare Elementary School last month to film a "Family Life" sex education presentation. According to an online pamphlet, those sessions emphasize abstinence from sex before marriage, argue in favor of adoption over abortion and promote the "benefits of marriage." Richardson noted that he watched a video the group posted in which participants said they were "sent here by Ms. Fairman." However, Fairman strongly disputed the allegations.

"I am not a part of that, absolutely not, and I do not support that name being changed, and that was news to me," Fairman said in response. "... There were several citizens, who when they found out about the Family Life, I asked them 'I said I can't go, can you please go?'”

"[T]hat’s my mistake for how I presented it to them. It was not intended to be that way," Fairman added, saying she had hand-written apology letters to school counselors.

Thye group in question — York County Poquoson Community Missions (YCPCM) — is led by Yorktown resident Bob Herget, who runs a local pest control business. However, in a video he posted to YouTube that has since been labeled as private (part of which has been uploaded to TikTok), he referred to his group as the "York County Poquoson Constitutional Militia." Herget's Facebook page is populated with content critical of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, clips from various right-wing influencers like Tim Pool and Joe Rogan and content praising former President Donald Trump. YCPCM's website has since been taken down.

Click here to read WAVY's full report.

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