I have a great idea. Let's uproot kids from Ashburn Farm, remove them from their local neighborhood school that they live 1.5 miles from and send them to school 5 miles away in Brambleton, in turn overcrowding the high school there, all so that kids from Lansdowne don't have to go to high schools in yucky Leesburg.
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Oh, that's a brilliant idea. Wouldn't want those Lansdowne kids to suffer from having to attend awful Leesburg schools.
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Make sense? Didn't think so...

Posted by qazwsxedcrfv (anonymous) on March 11, 2009 at 3:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

This plan demonstrates the complete lack of common sense and fiscal responsibility of Adamo and his staff. If it wasn't so scarily possible, I would laugh at this joke of a recommendation.
In addition to the greatly increased bus routes, this plan greatly overcrowds Briar Woods while other schools have hundreds of empty seats.
It's time for Lansdowne to realize they are part of Leesburg, not Ashburn. They have a Leesburg address and there recreational sports are affiliated with Leesburg, not Ashburn/Dulles.
This idiotic plan is being politically driven to the detriment of the students and taxpayers.

Posted by shevco (anonymous) on March 11, 2009 at 3:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

soooo... WHO- in the decision making process- stands to gain from this? more clearly stated: who lives in Lansdowne and is pushing this agenda for their own kids??

Posted by tttrenee (anonymous) on March 11, 2009 at 4:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Who funded Duprees election? Isn't that info public record?

Posted by qazwsxedcrfv (anonymous) on March 11, 2009 at 4:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I don't think Dupree is behind this. It is another school board member and BoS, but that is just gossip.

Posted by momof2 (anonymous) on March 11, 2009 at 5:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Our Ashburn Farm neighborhoods are almost 20 years old and we are STILL getting yanked around. Just when can we expect stability in our attendance boundaries? Ashburn Village has experienced very little upheaval, although Ashburn Village is the same age as Ashburn Farm. Let our Ashburn Farm High School and Middle School boundaries alone and give the burden of boundary changes to the newer communities like Lansdowne. They are much more of a Leesburg area than an Ashburn area. I hope and expect that the School Board will adopt a better plan.

Posted by romito (anonymous) on March 11, 2009 at 5:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

According to maps.google.com, it's

4.3 miles from Lansdowne Town Center to Stone Bridge HS
6.3 miles from Lansdowne Town Center to Heritage HS
6.3 miles from Lansdowne Town Center to Tuscarora HS

And you are going to move 300 kids that live within a mile of Stone Bridge, just so Lansdowne kids can go to their???? AND send those 300 Ashburn Farms kids to Briar Woods?
AND HAVE STONE BRIDGE AND BRIAR WOODS OVERCROWDED FOR YEARS TO COME!!!!?!?!?!?!?

Send the Lansdowne Kids to Heritage or Tuscarora!!!!!

Posted by bstokes (anonymous) on March 11, 2009 at 5:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Something stinks in Loudoun...again.

Posted by mazman128 (anonymous) on March 11, 2009 at 8:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)

471 kids need to leave Stonebridge HS. Approximately 500 kids in Landsdowne, across Rt 7 (a natural boundry), open seats in Leesburg schools, Landsdowne has a Leesburg address and zipcode. Ashburn Farm, settled, no new growth, walking distance to the school. Use common sense!

Posted by jjamydelaney (anonymous) on March 11, 2009 at 8:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Loudoun County may very well be headed for a taxpayer revolt! Have we really written a blank check so long to our School Board and public schools that they think we will knowingly take on $100 million in debt to build a new school to relieve supposed overcrowding WHILE 700-1,000 seats sit vacant just a few miles away in three underpopulated high schools? Is it true that this is all just to cater to one relatively small but wealthy community in our county - Lansdowne? This is outrageous!

It is time to bring some fiscal responsibility and sanity to the LCPS planning department and our elected officials. Nothing will do that more than simply refusing to fund this nonsense! They have to come to us to approve funds for this new school in a bond referendum right? These are tough economic times and our elected officials need to wake-up, fire our planning department head, and learn to be fiscally responsible. Wake-up fellow Loudoun residents and take back our government!

Posted by schance44 (anonymous) on March 11, 2009 at 8:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Unfortunately, in the almost 9 years I've lived in this county, the school board has held our kids hostage. There has never, ever been a school bond on the ballot that hasn't passed because no one wants to run the risk of depriving the children at whatever cost the school board tells us we need to pay. What people aren't thinking about when they vote to fund these bonds is that the money is coming out of their pockets.

Posted by qazwsxedcrfv (anonymous) on March 11, 2009 at 9:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Heritage and Loudoun County in Leesburg are both at capacity now. With the addition of Tuscarora, all three need to have boundaries adjusted, including part of Lansdowne. Students north of Rt 7/Market St. all need to funnel into Tuscarora High. SW and SE have enough kids to fill Heritage, and County can continue with NW, part of NE, Waterford, etc. Right now Heritage handles ALL the minority neighborhoods in Leesburg. Time to send kids to the CLOSEST schools and share the diversity.

Posted by GenuineRisk (anonymous) on March 11, 2009 at 11:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

My guess is Bob Onheiser and Lori Waters are teaming up on this hair brain idea. Ashburn Farm has earned more respect than they are getting. If you want to dig into this issue work on uncover the motives of Bob and Lori. They are working this deceptive angle.

Posted by maravetz (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 12:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Heritage will be 499 students under capacity in 2010-2011 (when this is supposed to happen). Stone Bridge and Briar Woods will be over capacity with this Staff recommendation. Why not move the 400 kids from Lansdowne to Heritage and keep so the kids from Ashburn Farm can actually go to the school they can see from their houses?

Posted by bstokes (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 12:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)

What I don't get is Lansdowne is a LEESBURG school. Why can't they go to a LEESBURG school and leave ASHBURN kids going to the ASHBURN schools. There is more than enough room for them in the LEESBURG schools which will have more than enough capacity for them with the addition of Tuscarora. This will alleviate the overcrowding at Stone Bridge, and won't push the over crowding to Briar Woods. This will save the Loudoun County taxpayers ALOT of money! This makes total sense to me.

Posted by curioustmf (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 12:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

There are several well thought out plans provided by residents that meet all objectives presented to us. Reference the "Why Are We Here" slide provided by staff at the Cummunity Input Meeting. The staff plan does establish attendance boundaries for Tuscarora. It does not relieve overcrowding for Ashburn high schools, does not balance growth, does not accomodate Ashburn are high school student growth through Fall 2014. Staff accomplished 25% of their objectives. As for Adamo, residents throughout Loudoun should demand his resignation. Even if I was a Lansdowne resident and my child was going to Stone Bridge, Adamo's plan overcrowds the school putting students and teachers in a facility that wasn't built to support them. Dr. Adamo lacks the professional integrity to stand up to political influences. There are several resident plans to choose from. Let's save his salary and that of his staff......or let's get lower priced talent that will understand who the most influential board and councel members are and they can jot down future plans. Couldn't be any worse than what our PhD gave us.

Posted by wdmiller99 (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 1:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Back when Freedom and Briar Woods were bid together, it was a "compromise" that settled the attempt to accelerate HS4 (BW) past Freedom (HS2).

The justification for attempting to move Briar Woods past Freedom (by changing attendance boundaries so all unbuilt yet planned growth fed into the desired school) was the absolute necessity of relieving crowding at Stone Bridge.

That never occurred with Briar Woods; it opened with less than 500 kids, and Stone Bridge has remained crowded to this day.

Now HS7 (Dulles HS) was recommended to be moved in front of HS6 (Loudoun Valley) last year because growth in the Freedom cluster requires relief before Briar Woods.

However, the Lenah crony debacle scotched any relief down here.

We will now have OUR overflow going to Ashburn while the very special of Dulles (all four of them) diddle around over replacement sites, and schools are further delayed.

Stone Bridge will STILL be overcrowded.

Guess what?

Why not let Dulles South kids go to school in Dulles South, Brambleton/Broadlands area kids go to school in THAT area, Ashburn Farm kids go to school in THAT area, and Lansdowne go to school north of Route 7 in the Leesburg area?

What a bloody novel concept!

The schools have been so royally screwed in Dulles (for the ever so extra-special) that it will be years before we recover as it is.

THIS mess is not the way to do it.

Artificially crowding Ashburn from both the north AND the south to promote enough seats there for people north of Route 7?

In the school of THEIR choice?

Excuse me, this is a public school system.

There aren't supposed to BE any people MORE special than others(Aldie private school with all day kindergarten, not having to look at a school their kids don't need yet, notwithstanding).

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 7:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Look you guys are just going to PO the school board and we will all have to pay! ha ha ha ha ha ha.......sorry, The parents got the grade scale they want, and now the MONEY guys have to get what they want. Remember, becareful what you ask for your might just get it. There is no free lunch!

Posted by Funnyguyva (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 9:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)

One of objectives, other than to establish attendance boundaries for Tuscarora High School, was to relieve Stone Bridge by up to 450 students. That directive came from Sam Adamo himself. Then he turns around and recommends a plan that leaves SBHS over capacity by more than 500 students. I would say that he forgot the objective of this process.

Posted by DMATTINGLY (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 9:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

One thing you are all forgetting to mention.... The designated ashburn and stone bridge feeder school, Belmont ridge middle school is nestled right in the middle of lansdowne. Lansdowne is in the Dulles north district, like it or not.

Posted by aajohnson (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 9:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

No one is forgetting. Because of another County SNAFU, Belmont Ridge Middle School is geographically located in Lansdowne, but was meant to be built IN and SUPPORT Belmont CC and Ashburn. Let's just get it out on the table. If Lansdowne goes to Heritage, there's no overcrowding, we're not splitting communities, and we don't have to accellerate funding for HS-6. Can someone from Lansdowne pipe in and let the rest of us know why this is bad for your community? Maybe if we understood, some of the frustration would subside.

Posted by wdmiller99 (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 10:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm not from Lansdowne but I'm going to speculate how it's perceived to be bad for their community: the perception (correctly/ incorrectly-don't know, don't care) is that that Leesburg high schools are substandard to Ashburn high schools and that by feeding into Leesburg schools their children won't get a quality education, their property values may subside due to the zoning, etc. I guarantee that's the idea.
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Can't think of another reason, as Stone Bridge is about as far geographically from them as the proposed Leesburg schools.

Posted by qazwsxedcrfv (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 11:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)

bstokes. . .Heritage is at capacity NOW. I dare you to navigate the hallways between classes as it is. Tuscarora was supposed to open some room at Heritage but after reviewing the boundaries, that won't happen. It will help Loudoun County, but not Heritage. Tuscarora is getting Lucketts kids and points north along with some Leesburg NW kids who currently go to County. Leave Heritage out of this mess, unless someone wants to move some of the neighborhoods north of Market St. to Tuscarora (which would be the closest school), but that will never happen as all those "triangle" schools (Reid, Smartt's Mill, and Tuscarora) will all remain lilly white.

Posted by GenuineRisk (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 11:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

GenuineRisk....you are right, Heritage is 200+ over capacity right now. But according to LCPS numbers (http://cmsweb1.loudoun.k12.va.us/5099051...), Heritage will be 499 students under enrolled when Tuscarora opens up in 2010 (when this grand plan is supposed to take place).

Stone Bridge is also 200+ students over enrolled NOW, but with this recommended plan, it will still be over enrolled in 2010..while the Leesburg schools have over 1000 empty seats.

Posted by bstokes (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 12:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If the people of Lansdowne don't like the idea of going to a Leesburg school, then why one earth would they live in Leesburg. On the Belmont Ridge Middle School's website (which is in the Lansdowne Community MS in their neighborhood) the address is listed as "Leesburg, Virginia 20176".

Posted by Curioustmf (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 1:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Zipcodes sometimes bear little relation to reality in Loudoun--South Riding is in Fairfax according to the USPS, and all of Stone Ridge is really part of a tiny rural village west of route 15!

That said, the person who noted the natural boundary of Route 7 is on a better track.

With the new boundaries for both middle and high schools, kids will be bused from below 50 and above 7 into Ashburn, which will help skew the feeder and cohort #s in the Ashburn clusters.

Miller helped create this mess when he decided to screw up the Dulles South schools for his cronies; There is a passed bond referendum for funding specifically for HS7, which is the Dulles South school that is now supposed to take a back seat to HS6.

If Miller would get off his duff and work for HS7 (to make up for the royal screwing he gave this half of his district, which now has kids going to Ashburn for middle school AGAIN), then there IS no HS6 to allow for the Farm, Broadlands, and Brambleton to get stirred around for the benefit of people north of route 7.

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 1:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It is exceedingly sad and unfortunate for all of us, especially our kids, to be in this predicament. Friendships are going to be needlessly strained and I think our kids want to be together at the same schools just as they have been thus far. What can WE TOGETHER in Dulles North do to provide for better long term solutions? Most on this blog have posted about movement of whole communities to Central Loudoun schools as a viable option, however, as the growth indicates that is only a short- term solution. This unfortunate discussion would have to come up again. I would love to see us united on a long-term approach. Perhaps we can rally together behind the building of the appropriate schools, in the appropriate locations, in a more timely fashion. Also, one point of clarification, none of the communities in Dulles North are in the town of Leesburg...we all receive our services from Loudoun County and pay only Loudoun County taxes. The United States government makes decisions to assign zip codes thru the USPS...this has nothing to do with the town of Leesburg.

Posted by dreleah (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 2:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

For all those people that comment that the kids north of route 7 should not be allowed to attend an Ashburn school then want for all the Ashburn kids not to attend Belmont Ridge Middle School (a middle school with a Leesburg address and which is north of route 7)?

Posted by dullesnorth (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 3:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

dreleah, one thing you together in Dulles North can do is realize this wouldn't be happening from Dulles North all the way to the Potomac River if the only high school east of 15 that currently has voter approval for funding/construction is HS7 in Dulles South, and the Dulles Supervisor killed that school.

I can't say I blame the Broad Run Supervisor for wishing to take advantage of his stupidity on that.

The solution is not to try to get around the law and transfer the HS7 money to the HS6 site, because that is what will force the boundary changes throughout Ashburn.

A reasonable boundary should be set for Tuscarora, and HS7 should be built as close to current schedule as possible.

Accelerating HS6 only compounds and exacerbates the current problems.

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 3:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Well, if the School Board approves Dr Adamo's recommendation, I think the next step should be to file a class action lawsuit against LCPS. What subdivisions would be interested? Ashburn Farm? Broadlands? Brambleton? South Ridngs? Loudoun Valley? Villages of Waxpool? Anybody else effected by the potential overcrowding at Briar Woods and Stone Bridge?

Posted by carl2t (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 4:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I think we should petition for the dissolution of whatever "planning" division that the schools currently have. Obviously they are not doing their jobs. It really can't be THAT difficult, especially if you have 40 hours per week every week devoted just to planning. At least we could save some money that way, since it looks as though the members of the community are going to have to come up with some sort of reasonable, fiscally responsible solution.

Posted by qazwsxedcrfv (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 4:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Wait a second here, as far as I've heard the School Board still has HS-7 coming in 2012 (delayed from the 2011 opening the Lenah site would have provided) which is before HS-6 even if HS-6 is moved up to 2013. Hasn't the majority of the School Board continued to say that HS-7 is the most needed high school in the county behind HS-3 Woodgrove which is opening in 2010? Accelerate HS-6 if it is truly needed (and explain again why it is truly needed given all the open seats in Leesburg), but do not delay HS-7 which will relieve Freedom High School's overcrowding. Don't tell me that HS-6 to relieve Briar Woods is needed more than HS-7 to relieve Freedom. I heard the same arguments when they tried to delay Freedom behind Briar Woods before the compromise that built them both the same year. Freedom opened with more students than Briar Woods and has had more students every year since.

Posted by charsj (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 6:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

charsj, I heard some ambiguous language about the HS-6 vs HS-7 debate at a joint budget meeting of the Bos and SB. I will try to dig up the info on that.

Posted by momof2 (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 7:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)

charsj and Momof2, I would start back at the discussion during the vote against the Lenah sites, and read forward in context.

Mrs. Waters asked a question that day about the HS 6 site at LVE II.

There has been some push ever since to attempt to move HS6 forward again. That was in the same year that HS7 was accelerated by a vote of the same Board to adopt the budget last year.

While I doubt that bond language that specific to the Dulles South school can be entirely disregarded to simply flip the approval over to an completely different project and site, this is AGAIN budget time and creative things are sure to happen every day.

Now is the time to be all over this if we want HS7 to adhere to its current (delayed) schedule, or we will be looking at a ten year deja vu with everybody back on the other side of the airport for school again.

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 8:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Demand the Board of Supervisors to think pre-emptively!! Support the accelerated approval for HS6 to ease overcrowding in the Ashburn/Lansdowne) areas. Wouldn't that help everyone in the long run? In 2013 the projected HS's in Dulles North cluster (Stone Bridge,Briar Woods & Broad Run) would house a total of 6130 students (4911 students is the combined capacity)
Therefore, we have 1219 students too many,...WE NEED HS6 yesterday. Focus on the fact that HS6 should have been addressed earlier.....didn't the BOS anticipate the potential boundary line adjustments???
Oh, P.S. Don't forget about Loudoun One too....Let's think ahead.

Posted by sonya007 (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 11:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey Babs:
News flash...Lansdowne is apart of the Dulles North Cluster....pushing for HS6 would benefit all those in the Dulles CLuster like Ashburn, Ashburn Farm, Belmont Country CLub, Belmont Greene, Alexanders Grove, Lansdowne and more....are you suggesting that Belmont Ridge Middle School become a middle school in the CL Cluster? Where would all the students South of Rt. 7 go to middle school then?? Complete the trifecta. We need the 3 Middle schools to feed into 3 High Schools. WE NEED HS6.
I await your relpy.

Posted by sonya007 (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 11:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Congratulations to Paul Vickers, principal of Mill Run ES, where my son is in the first grade. Paul does a great job, leads a great team, and is helping my wife and me to raise a great boy.
-
Stevens Miller
Dulles District Supervisor
Loudoun County BOS

Posted by stevensrmiller (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 12:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

sonya007, there is no such thing as a "dulles north cluster" of high schools.

There is an old Dulles North Area Management Plan (and it is still available online at the county website--fun reading: it refers to Broad Run being the high school for the Dulles North Area, and how it is surrounded by "open farm fields"), and each of the schools you mention is its OWN school cluster.

You are (perhaps conveniently?) forgetting the adjoining Heritage and Tuscarora clusters, which will have a dearth of open seats.

HS6 is not "needed yesterday", HS7 is.

There is only ONE high school and ONE middle school in the entire Dulles south region.

The projected middle school to relieve our single one is now three years late.

The projected high school to relieve our one is now one year late.

Next year's budget is projected to be worse than this year's.

Once HS6 is accelerated, in spite of greater need south of 50, in spite of open seats in Leesburg, will the coming budget ills of next year determine that HS7 can be further delayed?

Maybe you haven't lived here long enough to know how the game is played: the answer is yes.

As I said, this discussion would not be on the table if HS7 hadn't been shafted.

Where is the extra one hundred million dollars coming from, and how much more expensive will that make each (some unutilized) seat?

p.s. to Mr. Miller, will you still be in the Mill Run attendance boundary when your family completes the move to Oak Grove?

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 1 p.m. (Suggest removal)

p.s. to sonya007--perhaps you meant to say "think PROACTIVELY", but I must say, given the facts of the results of accelerating HS6, you may be correct in your choice of words after all--it would be a pre-emptive strike against the entire Dulles district, whose residents would pay the price from north to south and back again for many years to come.

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 1:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If you think overcrowding in Ashburn/Dulles North is getting bad now, wait and see what happens if you continue to delay HS-7 and Freedom's overflow gets sent north. (It's feeder school Mercer is already overflowing to Ashburn's Stone Hill this year and the next two years while we wait for the much delayed construction of MS-5 for Fall 2011.)

Last year's projected numbers:

Freedom building capacity = 1600
07-08 1217 enrollment
08-09 1486 projected
09-10 1745 projected
10-11 2114 projected
11-12 2491 projected
12-13 2879 projected
13-14 3269 projected

So in Fall 2012 where are you going to put the 1279 extra students from Freedom if HS-7 doesn't open? Are they going to fit in HS-6 too? Oh, that's right there are empty seats in Leesburg. Let's build HS-6 before HS-7 and send Dulles South across the county to to Leesburg so Lansdowne can stay at Stone Bridge.

Don't get me wrong. I have no objection whatever to HS-6 as long as it doesn't delay HS-7. HS-6 is going to be needed and needed soon. But HS-7 cannot be delayed again and again like MS-5 has been. The School Board and Board of Supervisors need to settle on a site for HS-7 ASAP.

Posted by charsj (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 1:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

charsj- where are your numbers coming from? The CIP shows the projected enrollment for Freedom High School as follows. 2009-10 at 1506, 2010-11 at 1645, 2011-12 at 1772, 2012-13 at 1966 and 2013-14 at 2137.

Posted by dullesnorth (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 2:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Cut and pasted from a posting by Barbara Munsey on this site on August 13, 2008 from School Board Adopted FY 2009-14 CIP, (Page 57) and from the LCPS Lenah Run Information packet showing projections for Freedom population at http://cmsweb1.loudoun.k12.va.us/5099051....

I acknowledge it includes anticipated development.

Posted by charsj (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 3:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

charsj - I am shocked by the change in the numbers. Do you feel the numbers in the current year's CIP (http://cmsweb1.loudoun.k12.va.us/5099051...) are wrong?

Posted by dullesnorth (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 3:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

You should actually read both links, because there's a bit of apples to oranges going on.

The Lenah packet that charsj quotes also shows the forward motion of the students already enrolled in Freedom cluster as of 07/08 as they age through the grades, with no additional growth projected.

That was prepared last summer, and shows 1642 in high school grades in 2010, 1706 in 2011, 1822 in 2012, 1918 in 2013, and 2070 in 2014.

That is just kids who already existed in the cluster as of last year.

It hasn't dropped much, and it doesn't look like it's going to.

Bear in mind, now that half of South Riding will be in Ashburn next year, the need will look MUCH greater there!

Again, what about close to 1000 empty seats in Leesburg schools, and where is the $100,000,000 coming from?

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 5:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thoughts on all these bizarre anti-Lansdowne comments: This is obviously an organized effort; The class-envy tone to some of these is disgusting; Many are posted here under user names that are obviously not real names; The shrieking and wailing going on makes me think that some of these people need to get real lives. And some of these arguments are just nutty. Ask the brilliant and welcoming elected leaders of the Lovely and Historic Town of Leesburg if in fact THEY think that "Lansdowne is part of Leesburg." Trust me. They don't. Take a look at my water bill.

Posted by Craig_Colgan (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 5:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Class envy? WOW... And how dare you suggest that qazwsxedcrfv is not my real name?

Posted by qazwsxedcrfv (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 6:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Class envy? I think not.

Posted by momof2 (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 6:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Dear qazwsxedcrfv: I had a college roommate named that. My mistake!

Posted by Craig_Colgan (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 6:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Craig,

That's great that your water bill isn't sky high. BTW, where do you send your check to for your water bill? Loudoun Water? The USPS shows Lansdowne as a "Leesburg" zip code. This is funny because some of the folks I've met who live in Lansdowne don't want to be associated with Leesburg and write their address as "Lansdowne, VA". Hey, look at your tax assessment and let us know what it says?

I do agree with you that folks need to stop with the Leesburg-Ashburn address distinction. The key goals should be how to alleviate overcrowding in our schools.

Posted by carl2t (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 7:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Dear carl2t: First, good luck finding a last name. One option that should work: Look on your driver's license. Second, I buy my water -- not by choice -- at what we now know are illegally inflated rates from those who run the Lovely And Historic Town of Leesburg. Which may lend some insight to your next point. Which is about why some within the community of Lansdowne On the Potomac allegedly decide to not use "Leesburg" as their address. Some within LOTP may have felt maltreated in that sadly cynical process. But then again, there is another more basic reason: They don't live in Leesburg. What is the mystery? No part of LOTP is within the limits of the Lovely And Historic Town of Leesburg. I think the fancy term is "unincorporated." Look it up. I live in LOTP and I use "Leesburg." But I will make sure to check with you to ensure my choice remains politically correct. None of this of course has anything to do with the issue at hand.

Posted by Craig_Colgan (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 8:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Craig
LOL. Good one. Thanks for using "Leesburg". Glad to hear you don't feel the need to impress folks with where you actually live.

So let's get back to what the real topic is, the school boundaries. What's your opinion of Dr. Adamo's recommendation? As I said above, I don't care about the Leesburg-Ashburn distinction, the plans being proposed do not alleviate overcrowding at Stone Bridge and Briar Woods.

Posted by carl2t (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 8:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

carl2t: Here's what I think: My neighborhood ain't the bad guy. Adamo's quotes to Erica Garman here and in the other stories make sense to me. But again, comment under your own names, people. Being a grownup: It's in. Toodles.

Posted by Craig_Colgan (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 9:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I love the Farm and love Ashburn, To be blunt, I wish that Lansdowne (where I have lived now for 4 years and previous to that spent 5 years in Ashburn Farm)fell into the Ashburn township. We are an unincorporated piece of the county just like Ashburn. However, we know we have issues and we know that Ashburn Farm has always been problematic (I lived a stone's throw away from Sander's Corner but my daughter went to school in the Broadlands and only got lucky that she didn't go to Briar Woods because it wasn't open until she was a junior at SBHS. Further, we also have Belmont Ridge Middle School which technically is "part" of Leesburg but people from BRCC/Belmont Estates and Ashburn Farm go there. The argument that "you can see the school from your house" doesn't fly. Or else have of the Farm living east of Windmill would be going to Broad Run. Ashburn Farm, unfortunately, has been the whipping boy of Adamo and company for awhile. When we lived in the Windmill area of Ashburn we were constantly under threat and thinking that the toll road was a "natural boundary" didn't work for us. If you want to lay blame anywhere else go to the developers. They knew what capacity was coming and "proffers" turned into a sick sort of joke.

In the interest of fairness and especially to those "anonymous" bloggers who don't have the spine to sign their names to their screeds, I technically do not have a dog in the hunt so to speak. Our last child is in 4th grade and we know he is secure in his elementary and middle school. High School is something I will worry about in 3 years.

Posted by michael.denzin (anonymous) on March 14, 2009 at 10:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I don't understand the vitriol when it comes to Lansdowne. Some of us have lived in other Loudoun communities, you know. I used to live in Cascades (back when it was Sterling, not Potomac Falls). Yes, some people use "Lansdowne, VA" as their address just as some people use "Broadlands VA" or "Brambleton VA" instead of Ashburn. The post office allows all 3 of those. I use Leesburg because I've lived in the county awhile.

Many Lansdowne residents don't feel like part of Leesburg (and Leesburg certainly doesn't want us either) -- for me, that's because I shop, dine and generally spend my money in Ashburn. I can get to Ashburn quicker than to Leesburg proper. I like Ashburn better. Some of you might see that as a compliment. Maybe because I used to live in Cascades, Leesburg seems further away than it really is.

All that said, I don't have a dog in this hunt either. By the time my kids are teenagers I'm sure the boundaries will have been changed several more times. But boundary changes are not the fault of individual communities -- blame lies properly with the mismanagement of this process by the county. Lori Waters does seem to be pulling strings on our behalf but, honestly, Lansdowne as a community is otherwise not that organized (no where near as much as Ashburn Farm!). As far as I can tell anyway and I've been here 6 years now.

If my kids end up going to school in Leesburg, so be it. I have friends with kids in those schools and they seem to be getting a perfectly fine education. I think it is a misperception that only Ashburn has good schools. Demographically, River Creek, Potomac Station, Spring Lakes, et al are similar to Ashburn and Lansdowne.

But I don't think whipping up all this anger toward Lansdowne is all that constructive.

Posted by jt12 (anonymous) on March 14, 2009 at 4:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The unfortunate part of the school boundary process is that it pits community against community. That is unfortunate, and is a flaw in the process. Most of the frustration that is being voiced against Lansdowne is really against the Supervisor that lives there that appears to be working the process for the benefit of her community at taxpayer expense. In the end, this process should keep communities TOGETHER. One community should not be constantly split for the benefit of others. There are plans out there that work statistically, are stable, and keep communities together. In one feld swoop, the mistakes of the past can be rectified for the future. Boundaries won't be done again in 2 years and kids won't be uprooted again. Moving Lansdowne to Leesburg High Schools means Lansdowne can stay together, Ashburn Farm can stay together, and communities further south like the Broadlands and Brambleton can stay together. Then, when HS-6 is needed in 2014 or later, a primary community can stay in BWHS and one can go to hS-6. What's wrong with that?

Posted by swsnbw (anonymous) on March 14, 2009 at 9:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

A technicality - Lori Waters doesn't live in Lansdowne. She used to, but she moved. Everyone is getting so emotional about this, but the facts are getting skewed in the process and it is getting people even more worked up. Just like all this stuff about "Leesburg stay in Leesburg and Ashburn stay in Ashburn." Does that mean that Ashburn wants to leave Belmont Ridge Middle? Another fact - lots of Lansdowne kids DO play sports on Ashburn teams. Ashburn Youth Football League has lots of Lansdowne kids, as does the lacrosse league and Ashburn Girls Softball League, among others. Ashburn isn't an island, and neither is Leesburg/Lansdowne (whatever you want to call it). This is a community and it's time for people to stop the name calling and accusations and start acting like one. This is shameful.

Posted by itype68 (anonymous) on March 14, 2009 at 9:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

itype68,

So I guess the Assessment site is out of date?

Current Owner Name/Address
WATERS, MATTHEW R & LORI L R/S
43877 RIVERPOINT DR
LEESBURG VA 20176-8499 Current Legal Description
LANSDOWNE ON THE POTOMAC
200707300056190
200412210136375P
SEC.25B LOT 29
Acreage: 0.24

Posted by carl2t (anonymous) on March 15, 2009 at 3:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

That's news to me, and I haven't gone onto the assessment website. If so, I stand corrected! All I know is she doesn't live on Red House Drive anymore. My point is, all these accusations are flying back and forth across route 7, "little rich kids," "politicians in their pockets," etc. Lansdowne is made up of people just like you and your neighbors. We are sitting next to you in church and standing next to you at your kids' basketball games and ballet recitals. Lansdowne is getting painted as this three-eyed monster, but we are just normal families. The name calling and finger pointing is very disappointing and is only hurting our community. In the end, everyone is looking out for what they think is best for their kids. How can this kind of talk be helping them? What is it teaching them? Can't people make their point without the conspiracy theories and trash talking?

Posted by itype68 (anonymous) on March 15, 2009 at 4:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

swsnbw.. You hit the bulls eye.

Posted by ed (anonymous) on March 15, 2009 at 8:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Lori Waters still lives in Lansdowne, but in a new(er) house.

Posted by jt12 (anonymous) on March 16, 2009 at 8:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)

And bear in mind that Lori Waters is not a universally liked figure in Lansdowne. Not everyone here voted for her or agrees with her. In fact, her opponent in the last election was another Lansdowne resident. And I've spoken with a couple teachers who live here (yes, there are LCPS teachers living in Lansdowne) who really really don't like her positions on education. Yes, she lives here but that doesn't mean we all support her or have any control over what she does.

Posted by jt12 (anonymous) on March 16, 2009 at 9:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)

After reading many, many blogs on this sensitive issue and seeing a large portion of bloggers stating that Stone Bridge is in the community of Ashburn Farm so therefore their kids should automatically go to SBSH, I was very disheartened to pull up the Ashburn Farm Parents website and see the middle school plan they endorsed. They were all for endorsing a middle school plan in which 2 communities of Lansdowne would be removed from Belmont Ridge. Does anyone in the Ashburn Farm Parents United association believe that Belmont Ridge is not in the community of Lansdowne? It seems a little hypocritical to me to endorse a plan for a middle school in which 2 areas of Lansdowne would be removed from Belmont Ridge and then argue so vehemently that 2 areas of Ashburn Farm should not be removed from Stone Bridge because of where the school is located.

Here’s the cold hard truth – all of us can continue to skew the numbers and the scenarios to make it look like our idea is the best – we all want what is best for our child and that is truly commendable; hurling insults at others who are doing the same is disgusting.

Posted by tramf89 (anonymous) on March 20, 2009 at 1:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

tramf89,

"Ashburn Farm is currently split between 2 Middle Schools and 3 Elementary Schools*. We are the only community in
Ashburn that has gone through this many school changes. Sadly, even though we have been built out for 8 years, our
most recent boundary adjustment was just this year when DN29 was moved yet again out of Cedar Lane ES, and back to
Sanders Corner ES to accommodate growth outside our community."

How many times has the community of Lansdowne gone through boundary changes? Given that Lansdowne has only been around for about six years?? How many different elementary, middle and high schools changes has the community endured?

Posted by carl2t (anonymous) on March 20, 2009 at 2:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Lansdowne is not to blame for the tremendous growth of Loudoun County or the Ashburn area over the last 20 years. All communities in Ashburn, including Ashburn Farm, have seen growth over the last 15-20 years which has caused the many boundary changes. I don't believe this issue should be about what is fair (my community has done this and mine has done this or mine hasn't done this) but it should be more about finding the best long term (not 3 years) solution for this problem.

I have only lived here a few years and do not want to see a band aid fix and I fear that's what we get if we move Lansdowne to Tuscarora and then in 3-5 years have to move them back.

I'm advocating for a solution, and not one that only works for a few years, that affects a minimum amount of children. My own child graduated last year and attended 9 different schools during her K-12 years. I personally know the effects, as I'm sure many other parents do, of moving kids from school to school and would not put that burden on any child (regardless of whether it's a Lansdowne child or Ashburn Farm child) unless it was absolutely necessary.

Posted by tramf89 (anonymous) on March 21, 2009 at 3:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

tramf89, three years is a long time in middle or high school. It can be ALL of either, with grandfathering of seniors.

Every community takes its turn at being bused or moved as long as growth remains dynamic, whatever the pace.

You know that, if before you moved to your current community, your own child moved a lot.

Ashburn Farm and surrounds have moved A LOT, too.

Dulles south spent a lot of time on the other side of the airport already.

My own son will be moving to Ashburn next year for eighth grade, and I accept that; there is nowhere down here for him to go, or for one of his friends if my son's zone is spared. Somebody down here is moving, period, and it's probably my section of the community.

Should he transfer away again during high school through this silly plan of artificially overcrowding Dulles and accelerating an as yet unneeded school, so some other area can be afforded the luxury of never moving at all?

Yes, let's remember this is a PUBLIC school system.

The proposed high school boundaries are ludicrous, and leave far too many empty seats in a year we have been told the budget is crucial.

Everyone takes a turn. It may be someone's turn to go to Tuscarora.

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 21, 2009 at 4:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Barbara – Why don’t you stick with talking about the things you know about (Dulles South) where you live and let the discussion about the boundaries for another area be discussed by the people who live there and know it. Lansdowne is not an area that has been afforded the luxury of never moving at all. Lansdowne started at Eagle Ridge Middle School, Lansdowne has been moved out of Seldens Landing and looks like that will happen again. Lansdowne has been at schools overcapacity when MANY empty seats existed elsewhere. We didn’t complain, we understood that it allowed children to complete their schooling with their feeds and we worked hard to make it work. And you know what, it did work. Frankly, it is our turn not to have our children churned temporarily when options exist to prevent it. Your child may be bused out of his area because there are no other options. I am truly sorry that happened. I hope that MS-5 has found land that can be approved and the school gets built. Taking Lansdowne and temporarily moving them out creates the artificial number for Dulles North, not the other way around.

Posted by leafofmaple (anonymous) on March 22, 2009 at 11:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)

leafofmaple, why don't you acknowledge that high school "stability" for a still-growing community, at the expense of communities all the way down to Dulles south, is an execrable "solution" that denies the current budget?

There are seats available for years to come in Leesburg. To leave them empty and accelerate a $100M school, in the process disrupting stable communities like Ashburn Farm in adjoining clusters, is by no means a solution for anyone but those who the move is being made for.

The reason my kid and half of town are moving is because there is nowhere to put them down here--schools were killed, partly by Mrs. Waters, for fiscal responsibility and better utilization of existing capacity--what a joke, all of a sudden!

So the plan is to move the communities around Stone Bridge OUT of their built out area so that Lansdowne can continue to feed into it, uninterrupted.

While leaving hundreds of "existing capacity" seats empty.

And moving forward a $100M expenditure into this year's budget for bond, so that Ashburn Farm and other communities can remain permanently disrupted?

Sounds very "fiscally responsible" to me!

Landsowne is not in a bubble. Moves made for its benefit ripple from cluster to cluster.

If "utilization of existing capacity" and "fiscal responsibility" are necessary in this budget, perhaps they should be necessary for all.

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 22, 2009 at 12:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

There are not enough seats for Lansdowne in the Leesburg High Schools. Lansdowne on the Potomac is built out. The vast majority of the future building in Lansdowne is for Leisure World. There is so much discussion about the needs of Dulles and Ashburn, what about the citizens of Leesburg? Are they not entitled to some stability?

Posted by leafofmaple (anonymous) on March 22, 2009 at 2:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

That's odd; it appears there aren't enough seats in Stone Bridge for Lansdowne students, unless Ashburn Farm moves out, to Briar Woods, where soon there won't be enough seats for Brambleton and Broadlands students, who will need to move out, and so on and so on.

Back to the fundamental question that seemingly WILL NOT be answered: if Dulles south middle schoolers have to go to Ashburn for school, since it is NOT FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE to build them one that the voters approved several years ago, and they must FIRST UTILIZE EXISTING CAPACITY, for the greater good of everyone (but themselves), WHY, in a year when the Board of Supervisors instructed staff and the superintendent of schools to bring in a budget with NO CAPITAL EXPENDITURES, is it suddenly and magically the FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE SOLUTION to NOT FULLY UTILIZE EXISTING CAPACITY, and accelerate a $100 MILLION DOLLAR CAPITAL EXPENDITURE into this year's budget, which is still not done haggling over the operating budget FOR THE EXISTING CAPACITY?

Not trying to yell, but caps are the only emphasis available in this medium.

I AM trying to get an answer, however.

......chirp......chirp.....

....still waiting.....

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 22, 2009 at 2:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Posted on LansdowneLiving:

This meeting will focus on school's budget, but talks also need to be addressed regarding not freezing school construction.

2/25 at 6 p.m. at the County Government Building
2/26 at 3:30 p.m. at the County Building
2/26 at 6:30 p.m. at the County Building
2/28 at 10:00 a.m. at the School Admin. Building
2/28 at 12:30 p.m. at the School Admin. Building

If you are willing to speak, please call 703.777.0204 to register for your two minutes.

More information on HS6 from Lansdowne resident Kirsten Langhorne:

I have decided to direct my advocacy efforts towards the development of the Dulles North High School, a.k.a. HS6. For those of you who haven't been following this particular issue, HS 6 is currently slotted to be constructed in Brambleton to relieve Stone Bridge, Broad Run, and Briar Woods but that this construction would happen in 2014 at the earliest and after the high school (HS7) in South Riding has been built to relieve Freedom. Lori Waters and Bob Ohnheiser would like to try to get the Board of Supervisors to move forward with HS 6 soon, taking advantage of land that has already been acquired and is reading for development (there is no land yet purchased for the South Riding school). The location of HS 6 would relieve the three Dulles North schools and also could be used for South Riding relief until HS 7 is constructed. Additionally and importantly, constructing the school now soon would likely result in tens of millions of dollars in cost savings due to the low bids t he county is receiving for the other schools currently in development. For cost and overcrowding, we don't want to risk HS 6's delay due to land-use problems in South Riding.

Lori would like proponents of this effort to briefly speak at the Finance Committee meeting next Tuesday morning at nine. If you would like to participate or even just support from the sidelines, please let me know via e-mail. I am in CO this weekend but would like to pull together a small group to present on Tuesday.

Thanks,

Kirsten Langhorne

Posted by carl2t (anonymous) on March 22, 2009 at 5:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

carl2t, actually, the HS6 site is in Loudoun Valley Estates, not Brambleton.

Brambleton is where Briar Woods is, and where Ashburn Farm would be sent.

HS6 can be used for South Riding? How nice.

And even nicer: people can speak at Finance?

But only if they support HS6?

What if they DON'T support it?

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 22, 2009 at 8:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Interesting.

The County FOIA calendar not only does not show a finance committee meeting next Tuesday morning at nine, it doesn't show any public input at the as yet unadvertised meeting.

IOW, that won't fly.

http://inter1.loudoun.gov/cgi-bin/db2www...

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 22, 2009 at 9:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Here's another schedule:

http://cmsweb1.loudoun.k12.va.us/loudoun...

Posted by carl2t (anonymous) on March 23, 2009 at 6:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Here's a better schedule:

http://cmsweb1.loudoun.k12.va.us/loudoun...

Posted by carl2t (anonymous) on March 23, 2009 at 6:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)

carl2t, the postings you provided are a bit ambiguous; the schedule is for the budget public hearings last month, but the finance committee reference doesn't seem to make sense.

There doesn't appear to be a record of a Tuesday 9 a.m. committee meeting either going back to the beginning of the year, or going forward to the end of the month.

DID some special public input occur at one, or IS some special input scheduled?

Either way, a private community forum isn't the way to do it!

The two school calendars linked show LCPS finance and site acquisition, also not appearing to have any meetings with scheduled input on a Tuesday at 9.

Any more info on the stuff you posted?

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 23, 2009 at 7 a.m. (Suggest removal)

BarbaraMunsey,

Can't validate the source from the Lansdowne community forum except to say some Lansdowne residents may be getting information from an inside source. Just trying to give folks a heads up on what could be happening.

Posted by carl2t (anonymous) on March 23, 2009 at 8:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Thanks, carl2t, this appears to be a stunning development.

Posted by momof2 (anonymous) on March 23, 2009 at 9:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey, the schedule posted by carl2t is signed by Kristen Langhorne who was quoted in another article

http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/b...

as saying, "Kirsten Langhorne, a Lansdowne mother of a fifth-grader and a seventh-grader supports the proposed attendance boundaries, adding that it’s a good plan until a better solution can be found.

“No changes should be made at this time," she said in a phone interview this morning. “We should maintain the status quo until HS-6 comes on, as that will dictate more necessary boundary changes."

There’s a perception that Lansdowne residents don’t want to attend Leesburg schools, but Langhorne said she doesn’t feel that way.

“If the community’s kids would be fed to Tuscarora and it was a permanent change, I could support that," she said.

The HS-6 that Langhorne speaks of is the next Ashburn high school to be built in Loudoun Valley Estates. School officials said at Tuesday’s school board meeting that they will recommend a 2013 opening for the school, versus the 2014 opening on the books — a fast-tracked solution to relieve crowding Ashburn schools. "

Mrs. Langhorne knows something?

Posted by yind2b (anonymous) on March 23, 2009 at 2:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The post by Ms. Langhorne must be from February. In looking at the county master calendar, the meeting dates in the post are on the February calendar.

http://inter1.loudoun.gov/cgi-bin/db2www...

I've been unable to find that specific post in LansdowneLiving, but my guess is that it was made in February.

Posted by levittpramuka (anonymous) on March 23, 2009 at 3:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I cannot believe that the county is actually considering building a new school ahead of schedule, not utilizing schools we already have while teachers IN YOUR CHILDRENS' schools are worrying about getting RIF notices. Where exactly is the logic in this??? Maybe all will be singing a new song when class size affects learning, your special education student's teacher has such a large case load that she can't keep up with your child, your child doesn't get the speech therapy that he needs because the pathologist has 68 kids on her case load and doesn't have time for yours-- and the list goes on. These are VERY real concerns- building a new school-- NOT NECESSARY! Don't think this is the reality, go ask a teacher!

Posted by nibsthecat10 (anonymous) on March 23, 2009 at 3:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

levittpramuka,

Yes posted in February, my thoughts were in March. My error.

nibsthecat10,

Bulleye! Hundreds of teachers and staff could be cut. Not to mention, our kids(parents) will have to pay for things (sports, etc) that should be a part of every school budget.

Posted by carl2t (anonymous) on March 23, 2009 at 4:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I’m a Lansdowne parent but I have to say I’m starting to get a bit confused, maybe even concerned about Lori Waters true motivating in this whole boundary process

I have now heard and read that basically HS-6 being built in 2012 never really had a chance of happening for the following reasons:

1. The BOS instructed the School Board to bring no new spending forward in the 2010 CIP. Approving money for HS-6 would go against that instruction.
2. There is not enough time for an architectural bid and design on HS-6 to have it built in 2012
3. There are six other “shovel ready” projects before HS-6
4. There is not enough in the CIP to build two new HS and Monroe within the next two years.
5. Monroe has been pushed back twice and Supervisor Water voted against it both times.
6. Some of the things she has talked to us about in Lansdowne (such as the veterinary program and the equine center) have not yet been funded.

I need clarification on these questions. Does anyone have the answers? Please tell me we have no all been put in the spin cycle with no real hope of this ever really happening.

Posted by bcoe (anonymous) on March 23, 2009 at 6:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

bcoe, watch the March 18, 2009 finance committee meeting webcast:

http://loudoun.granicus.com/MediaPlayer....

If that link doesn't work directly to the meeting, try this:

http://loudoun.granicus.com/ViewPublishe...

Scroll down and select:

Finance/Government Services and Ops Committee Meeting Mar 18, 2009

Question 1 is answered in the affirmative.

2, Ben Mays says there is no cash to do so, which is how it was suggested to be done.

3, the school board said there were six other projects ahead, including two vital elementary schools.

4, I can't answer that; we've been told many times next year's budget will be worse than this one, and that is a matter for calculation against the debt cap.

5, Monroe HAS been pushed back, but I don't remember who voted how, or how often.

6, Mr. Geurin clarified at the finance meeting that the veterinary program, including equine studies, had not yet been adopted.

Start with the finance meeting, and I think it will answer a lot of the questions you raise.

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 23, 2009 at 8:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)