VA School Board Boots Pro-Constitution Immigrant Member

By Jackson Kincaid

In Brief: 

Following a heated debate on the compatibility of the US Constitution and Democratic Socialism, a conservative and Governor-appointed candidate to the Virginia Board of Educators was removed for defending the Constitution. 

The Background: 

Back in July, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) appointed Suparna Dutta, an immigrant and engineer, to the Virginia Board of Education. Dutta was set to be confirmed by the Senate of Virginia along with various other appointees to different government positions. However, her confirmation was canceled after Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-VA)  introduced a last-minute amendment removing Dutta from the nominations.

Gov. Youngkin issued a statement showing her shock at the turn of events:

"[Senate Democrats] voted to remove Suparna Dutta, shockingly claiming that a public school parent isn’t qualified to serve on the Board of Education. She is a mother and advocate for parents’ rights, she is an immigrant and an advocate for Asian American rights, she is an engineer and advocate for STEM in education. ​​She is not only qualified, she epitomizes parental involvement in our schools and we need her voice on our Board of Education.”

Fox News reports that board member Anne Holton — who is married to Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine — said she was "uncomfortable" with that language. "You cannot reference the Declaration of Independence and Constitution as remarkable documents without also acknowledging that they contain fundamental flaws of enshrining slavery and limiting the protections that they provided for only to white, propertied men.”

Dutta explained the defense to Fox News as pro-Constitution/anti-socialism as an immigrant from a socialist country. 

“I think socialism is just about as bad as communism. It co-opts the important decisions belonging to families and individuals. Somebody had to jump in and challenge that viewpoint. America is great. America's founding documents are great. And I do believe that socialism is very destructive, coming from a country which was founded as a socialist country.”

Notable Quotes: 

"I thought people celebrated diversity. Whether it's diversity of thought, diversity of viewpoint or diversity of any of the many characteristics? I'm flummoxed." – Suparna Dutta