Recently elected school board member, Nicole Cole has been a controversial figure in Spotsylvania County, and rightfully so.
Since she gained her seat on the board, parents and students alike have brought to attention her rather concerning social media presence, particularly on Facebook.
During a meeting on November 10th, 2021, parents raised concerns about some of her posts on social media.
Cole allegedly called for activists from other counties to come disrupt a Spotsylvania school board meeting, in support of her own campaign.
Parent’s also claimed that she was hostile towards those who reached out to her with concerns about public comment.
When concerned parent April Latham raised concerns about public comment, Cole responded by attacking fellow board members Kirk Twigg, and April Gillespie, both of whom are part of the board’s new majority.
*the following images credit of The Spotsy Wire*
The controversy doesn’t end here however, as Cole has continued to make malicious comments towards parents and students on social media, who she disagrees with.
On a Facebook Thread created by Virginia Senator Tim Anderson, she made the following comment:
“...willful ignorance of a partially educated lower middle class…”
Cole stated, attacking parents of Spotsylvania county who have raised concerns about mask mandates. These statements are blatantly classist, as well as being very misguided and malicious in nature towards parents who she was elected to represent.
These comments come following the board’s overturning of the mask mandate, as per Governor Glenn Youngkin’s executive order.
It is also concerning how dismissive Cole was in statements about children who don’t want to wear masks. It seems as though she wants to pit educators against parents and students, a divisiveness that is common with Cole.
During her campaign, she gained vocal support from failed Virginia gubernatorial candidate, Terry McAuliffe, who has gained a reputation as well for being dismissive of parental concerns in education.
As well as being vocally dismissive and disrespectful towards parents, she has been rather shady in her social presence on other social media apps, like Instagram.
SCSU reports that Cole liked a post that made the claim that conservative students are “dirty racists'', next to an image of the confederate flag. Cole has ignored our questions for her.
This is not the only time that Cole has been caught in a race scandal. Multiple students have reported being bullied by her son, Max Cole, after reports that he claimed that he “hates white kids”.
This raises questions about her parenting, as well as her political agenda as an acting board member.
Politics in large part, have been a focal point for certain members of the board, Like Cole and her fellow member Dawn Shelley, both of whom have attended protests and campaigned for their fellow members to resign.
In the opinion of members here at SCSU, Cole needs to resign. Her derogatory language targets parents and students that differ politically from her. This harmful redirect only contributes to the suspicion that the board has become partisan and corrupt.
*more images*
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