School board chair storms out of heated meeting in Montgomery County

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - Virginia saw another school board battle Tuesday night, in Montgomery County.

Board Chairwoman Susan Kass was personally called out by a speaker holding up her phone and showing what she claimed to be photos from Kass’s Facebook page, showing Kass without a face covering while in a crowd, calling the school board members hypocritical.

The continued controversy over masking in public schools reached a new height, just hours before Governor Glenn Youngkin announced he would sign a law banning mask mandates.

“If you are going to sit there and disparage a member of our school board, you can sit down,” said Kass, who then called for police to ask the speaker to leave.

“She should be able to say her piece, I’ve had to listen to people come and criticize me,” said fellow board member Jamie Bond.

“That doesn’t make it right, Jaimie, that’s my family,” continued Kass.

“What do you think about our family? Our family is being suffocated to death with your policies,” exclaimed the speaker.

“I’m done,” replied Kass. “She leaves or I leave.” Seconds later, Kass is seen on the streamed meeting walking out of the room.

We reached out to Kass, who tells us the pictures in question were of her vaccinated family members and friends in her own home.

“Just because you believe in masking in a classroom, with 30 students sitting in a room in close proximity, in a small not well-ventilated room, asking them to mask there is not the same as saying I need to wear a mask in my house,” said Kass. “The fact they went and trolled my Facebook to find anything they could to disparage me is pretty sad and pretty low.”

Kass tells us she has not yet decided if she will remain on the school board.

Other board members like Mark Cherbaka say after all the heated meetings in the past year, the school board is hoping for better discourse between community members in the future.

He’s also hoping Kass stays on to be part of it.

“I that she’s been a fantastic board member and honestly a really effective chair. Many of my fellow board members share that view,” said Cherbaka.

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