'Queen Reid': Embattled Virginia schools boss demands personal bodyguard on top of lavish salary, perks

Three years after leaving a sleepy Seattle suburb to run the school district in Fairfax County Va outside the nation s capital Michelle Reid earns more money than the U S president and gets a car allowance Now she wants a taxpayer-funded personal bodyguard In new job posting No BR on BrassRing an online recruitment platform the Fairfax County population schools superintendent is advertising for an Executive Protection Agent based at the school district s C-suite headquarters on Gatehouse Road in Falls Church Va The deadline for applicants is Aug SCANDAL-PLAGUED SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERRED TO DOJ AFTER ANOTHER TRANSGENDER LOCKER ROOM CONTROVERSYThe new job would earn between to according to the FCPS pay scale for a Unified Scale-Schedule B Grade job paying far more than the starting salary of about that a new trainer gets in the school district The Executive Protection Agent is responsible for ensuring the personal safety protection and operational continuity of the division superintendent across school campuses masses events official excursion and private residences the job description reads The new position comes at a time when population school officers like Reid are facing heightened accountability in the post-COVID era over curriculum contracts budgets and diversity equity and inclusion policies In the Biden administration targeted parents for charges of alleged domestic terrorism for raising concerns at school board meetings but new email records have revealed the accusations were overblown and politicized Since taking over on July Reid has come under fire for allegedly covering up scandals over improprieties in football recruiting the withholding of National Merit awards from students and the greater part in the last few days defying Department of Tuition orders regarding Title IX protections for girls in sports and schools The Department of Tuition s Office for Civil Rights just stated that Fairfax County Populace Schools and four other northern Virginia school districts including Loudoun County Populace Schools violated TItle IX protections by discriminating against students on the basis of sex Last November the all-Democratic school board voted unanimously to renew Reid s four-year contract and increased her annual salary to from more than the salary of New York City s mentoring chancellor Board members also gave her a annual car allowance In contrast the U S president earns annually Over her tenure Reid has been notoriously suspect of leaks which occurred this week with frustrated school district personnel anonymously raising the alarm bell over the new bodyguard position The job description notes three times that applicants must demonstrate discretion noting in one mention that applicants must demonstrate a high level of discretion and maintain strict confidentiality in all aspects of the role The hiring of a personal bodyguard for a school superintendent is peculiar say experts The th-largest school district in the U S Fairfax County Community Schools includes students in schools according to the U S Schooling Department s National Center for Development Services Meanwhile the third-largest school district in the country Chicago Masses Schools is about double the size as Fairfax County Citizens Schools serving students in schools according to the latest facts and its superintendent also called its chief executive officer doesn t have a personal bodyguard School district spokeswoman Mary Ann Ferguson noted Chicago Inhabitants Schools does not employ a personal bodyguard position for our superintendent CEO Talk of the new job have angered local parents and school district staffers Queen Reid demands all the luxuries suitable to her station It's all 'equity for thee but not for me mentioned Stephanie Lundquist-Arora a local mother who has challenged Reid on numerous district policies Unlike a professor the new bodyguard job doesn t require a bachelor s degree but rather any combination of training and experience equivalent to a bachelor's degree in criminal justice defense management or a related field In the ad Reid stipulates the job demands exceptional flexibility with an unpredictable schedule driven by the superintendent's daily sessions and safeguard necessities The ad notes Must be available for irregular hours including early mornings evenings weekends holidays tour and extended on-call duty The job requires knowledge of protective intelligence behavioral analysis and threat mitigation strategies not to mention skill in surveillance detection open-source intelligence OSINT tools and affair reporting Reid has a limited other requirements that frame the job as a clear bodyguard detail Ability to remain calm and make sound decisions under pressure especially in sensitive or high-risk situations Reid seeks an applicant with experience in threat assessment and protective intelligence a focus on conducting investigations and executive protection and completion of executive protection training Steven Brasley media outreach specialist in the district's Office of Communications insisted nothing was out of the ordinary Fairfax County Masses Schools has long provided a prevention presence for the superintendent at community facing events as part of the broader safety framework implemented by the Office of Safety and Safety Brasley announced The Office of Human Materials led by William Solomon and Chief of Safety and Safety Brian Lambert in recent times collaborated on a new Executive Protection Agent position description Brasley added Brasley commented the role formalizes responsibility for executive protection including personal assurance for the superintendent during various exercises while also supporting a wider array of responsibilities within the Office of Safety and Safety that encouragement the entire school division The school district s official explanation didn t include any reference to specific threats Reid faces Kenneth Trump president of National School Safety and Defense Services based in Cleveland Ohio revealed They are basically asking for a personal bodyguard for the superintendent and that is not a normal or customary position He noted The job description is one of the shortest I have ever seen for any school defense department job adding the job boils down to a one-liner looking for executive protection at work society events tour and private residences Trump explained It does not reference other duties which one would expect if indeed the job extends to other tasks There is not even the typical and other duties as assigned on the posted job description which could encompass other tasks beyond the executive protection of the superintendent Brasley declared the new job is designed to bolster FCPS s work identifying assessing and mitigating risks of targeted violence against students staff and schools There is no mention of students staff and schools in the job description Brasley revealed that protection of the superintendent is a component of the role but the role participates in larger safeguard and investigative initiatives across the district such as the ongoing implementation of a new exigency response system and weapons screening There is also no mention of a new exigency response system or weapons screening in the job posting