Letter to the Editor: Lenah Schools Site is a Bad Deal for Taxpayers

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Thursday, October 30, 2008

Thank you to the five Loudoun County supervisors who voted against the Greenvest school site on Lenah Road. These supervisors showed fiscal responsibility at a time when the county and nation are in a financial crisis.

In these hard financial times, it is negligent not to consider the financials of this deal. Greenvest claims the 99-acre parcel is worth $3.2 million. Meanwhile, the Loudoun school system signed a contract to pay $20 million for the land — more than six times as much. With this deal, it seems the school system is asking the county to bail out Greenvest for a poor land investment.

The contract amount was recently reduced to $19 million so taxpayers could pay $1 million to pave a segment of Braddock Road. Many other needed transportation improvements are not included in the $19 million. In fact, the school district estimated a maximum of $4.6 million for road improvements, and this does not include right of way acquisition needed along Route 50.

These costs would place an unnecessary burden on Loudoun County taxpayers, given that this area was never meant to be a priority for road improvements. Route 606, Route 659, Route 50 and other commuter roads should be the priority for funding, not the roads in the county's transition area.

I am hopeful that the school site selection and acquisition process will be reformed to include public and Board of Supervisors input before taxpayer dollars are spent on a project. In a slow real estate market, the county should be looking for the best deal in locations that do not require spending millions of dollars for infrastructure.

We can all agree that a middle school and high school are needed in Dulles South. But given the economy and the county's budget crisis, we owe it to the taxpayers to have a competitive bidding process that looks at sites that are more cost-effective.

Laura Tekrony, Aldie

Tagged: Lenah Run, Letter to the Editor, opinions, schools

Comments:

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Laura, you have no business being the At Large rep to Parks and Rec if you are going to relentlessly OPPOSE schools that department SUPPORTS.

Showing up at the school board to say "use eminent domain" in South Riding, "especially if it's retail", is delusional if you want to say you're concerned for the taxpayers.

You already get a private education on the public's dime at Aldie, where there are fewer kids in each GRADE than there are in any of the classrooms at schools you are helping delay for relief.

Resign your position, and you can be a disingenuous activist with a raging personal agenda to your heart's content.

Right now your position is supported with tax dollars through Parks and Rec, and as a taxpayer, I think you don't need the county credential legitimizing what has always been a NIMBY exercise for you.

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on October 30, 2008 at 11:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

And you BM have no business harassing everyone who chooses to disagree with your narrow point of view. More Loudoun citizens than not are quite sick and tired of your relentless attacks and serial blogging on every possible website. Your side lost. Get over it and get a life. No one likes sore loser.

Posted by starburst03 (anonymous) on November 1, 2008 at 9:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

To the contrary, starburst, Ms. Munsey's "side" is merely in a holding pattern. There is hope that the BOS will reconsider this vote and do the sensible thing: start building these much-needed schools now! Thank goodness there are people like Ms. Munsey who will still speak out!

Posted by octamatilda (anonymous) on November 1, 2008 at 10:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It's really nice that the county raised our real estate taxes 18% to cover their expenses. It seems everybody has their hand out for an increase but the one that never gets it is Joe-the-working-slob-taxpayer. He gets nothing; not even a cost of living increase to cover spiraling costs, just to live reasonably.

The county hucksters for revenue because they need new schools, social services, etc. Wake up! Have some financial responsibility and eliminate all of the free services that are being sucked up by illegal's and you would have a surplus! My solution is the reverse of the "Field of Dreams" famous line, "If you don't build it, they won't come".

Posted by brinkmang (anonymous) on November 5, 2008 at 9:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

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