On May 12, 2023, Beverly Madeja unceremoniously retired from the school board. School Board member Melanie Meren allegedly ordered interim school board clerk Madeja to remove art with the American flag from school board offices at the Gatehouse headquarters of Fairfax County Public Schools and then bullied Mrs. Madeja so badly that Mrs. Madeja worked remotely from home over the past year.
Mrs. Madeja was a fair and kind civil servant to the community. Let us show our love for Mrs. Madeja and the American flag. Let’s demand a public celebration by the school board of Mrs. Madeja and a public investigation into the alleged workplace abuse she faced.
Statement from Fairfax Chapter Leader Stephanie Lundquist-Arora:
“We felt it was important to take a stand for our country and against the pervasive anti-Americanism trickling down to our children in public schools. During our American flag rally, we were surrounded by activists holding transgender flags and videoing us. These are tactics they frequently use to intimidate us into silence. But we refuse to be silent about our love of country and against the indoctrination of our children. Instead, we offered the activists American flags. It is, after all, the most inclusive flag. We are all Americans, no matter where we sit on the political spectrum.”
At this rally, participants wore shirts emblazoned with the American flag, carry the American flag and handwritten signs with messages that oppose the bullying by Melanie Meren and affirmed their love of America, the American flag and recent interim school board clerk Beverly Madeja.