December 13th’s school board meeting, held at the LCPS Administration Building, was standing room only. While the meeting’s actual agenda revolved around a proposed wording change in the LCPS Discrimination Policy—an item which attracted many supporters in its own right—Dominion was well-represented with students, parents, and faculty who attended in support of Dr. Brewer following his placement on indefinite leave.

Before the meeting began, members of Dominion’s community lined the hallways outside the meeting room entrance with posters of support for Dr. Brewer. The most notable of the signage presented was a large poster reading ‘What Dr. Brewer Means to Us,’ which had hundreds of signatures from students and faculty describing exactly that.

Anika Maan, the poster’s creator, came up with the idea for collecting signatures in visible form because she believes Dr. Brewer’s efforts deserve recognition. “I hope that LCPS recognizes [Dr. Brewer] as a great principal,” Maan said, “because he’s been a pinnacle in our education since we were freshmen and he came to our homes with the Welcome Wagon.”

In order to be given a 90-second speaking spot on the meeting agenda, prospective presenters had to sign up ahead of time. 58 individuals had done so, and the meeting began promptly at 6:30. While Dr. Brewer was not the only topic of conversation—other petitions ranged from protesting a change in school zoning to demanding greater protections for LGBT individuals—tens of community members took to the podium to support the man who’s been Dominion’s principal since 2003. Most of the speakers were parents and teachers, but one student—Julia Fabian, who was a member of Dominion’s band at the time Brian Damron oversaw it—spoke on Brewer’s behalf.

While a school board member stated they have no actual say in Dr. Brewer’s case—since it is a personnel matter, which is under the jurisdiction of Loudoun County Public Schools’ administration—many in attendance stated that they merely intended to make their support for him public.  “We understand the School Board doesn’t have a lot of say in what happens,” said Nicole Korsen, an English teacher at Dominion, “but we want to direct comments to the administration so that we get a quick and hopefully positive resolution to this situation.”

Common complaints among Brewer’s supporters revolved around what they perceive as his unfair treatment by the Loudoun County administration. “We’d like more transparency,” Julie Marnell, a history teacher at DHS, said. “We want to make sure the school board knows how much we support him and how much we want him back.” Tony Cho, another DHS faculty member, believes similarly. “I think it’d be great if [LCPS] was more open about what is going on,” he said.

The top priority of the meeting’s attendees, though, was merely to ensure that Dr. Brewer returns in a timely manner. “Dr. Brewer means a lot to everyone in our community,” Samantha Ingram, a Dominion student, said. “We want him back as soon as possible.”