School Site Review Is Up to Loudoun
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Court Ruling Gives Authority to County
Originally published at 1:14 p.m., September 12, 2008
Updated at 9:53 a.m., September 13, 2008
Loudoun County, not Purcellville, has the power to review the location of a new high school in western Loudoun, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled yesterday in a decision likely to advance plans for a campus in the region's fastest-growing school system.
High schools are not usually seen as bad neighbors. But in Loudoun, the traffic and infrastructure demands they generate has led Purcellville to fight the construction of a school just outside town limits.
Purcellville officials acknowledge the need for another high school, but they are questioning the location. The town contended in a 2006 lawsuit that the county's chosen site, on a 230-acre parcel north of town known as Fields Farm, violates a 1995 land-use agreement between the county and the town. The county disagreed.
Yesterday, the state's high court found that the location of the planned school is at odds with the 1995 agreement. That will trigger a review by the planning commission that has jurisdiction over the site. The court ruled yesterday that the authority lies with the county's planning commission, not the town's.
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"It looks to me like it is good news for us," said Loudoun School Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III. "We look forward to beginning construction."
Purcellville Mayor Robert W. Lazaro Jr. said the court ruling meant the county at least would have to heed the town's concerns. "I'm relieved, because it's been going on long enough," Lazaro said of the legal battle. He added: "We just want the county to work with us, nothing more, nothing less."
Lazaro said he fears that the town of about 6,500 people will be overwhelmed if it is not given a chance to review such major developments near its borders.
"If it's okay for [the school], it's okay for Lowe's. It's okay for Wal-Mart," he said. "We are one of the last real little towns in Northern Virginia."
The county school system, with about 54,000 students in fall 2007, has been growing at a faster rate than any other in the Washington area.
Crowding in western Loudoun schools is apparent every afternoon as school buses and cars choke roads near Loudoun Valley High School in Purcellville. A haze of exhaust settles over the parking lot as cars idle next to the rows of trailers that serve as extra classroom space.
The new school, to be named Woodgrove High, would relieve crowding at Loudoun Valley High and serve developing communities in the county's western sector. A year ago, there were about 1,600 students at Loudoun Valley High.
The court ruling appears to leave few obstacles before the school system can break ground.
The Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower court to work out some details, which might take some additional months. Then the Loudoun County Planning Commission would have to approve the location. County school officials hope to have the school ready by fall 2010.
Tagged: courts, Loudoun County Public Schools, Purcellville, schools, Virginia Supreme Court
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YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by RustNeverSleeps (anonymous) on September 12, 2008 at 3:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Lord have mercy build the school already! More delays, more court, we will never see a school! We in P'ville DO want the school, the Mayor doesn't.
Posted by cherylogren (anonymous) on September 12, 2008 at 4:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mr.Lazarro,
Enough is enough! The sign of a powerful man is humility. Please work with the county to get this school built!! Our children have suffered for years from overcrowding. If you are uncertain of that, ask the teachers in the schools around Pucellville, even those who live IN Purcellville.
GET THE SCHOOL BUILT!!
Posted by LoudounPatriot (anonymous) on September 12, 2008 at 10:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It's shameful. Schools are multiplying like rabbits in Loudoun County, EXCEPT in Western Loudoun. Drive by Valley and look at the trailers. Drive by at dismissal time. It's appalling.
Posted by kris2 (anonymous) on September 13, 2008 at 7:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Build the school now. The town has wasted enough time and money. The new school will actually relieve the congestion in town, not increase it.
It seems a far stretch to relate a new school to a Walmart or a Lowes. But then think of all the gas we would save if there was shopping closer to us. But nothing in the court decision says anything about a Walmart or Lowes. This is just the mayor running around saying the sky is falling.
The mayor is an import from Nassau County, New York. Under the administration he was a part of, they broke the county. Now he is up to the same spending tactics in Purcellville. He will have this little town in debt by $100M if his capital improvement plan is executed. That is the real danger to Purcellville. We could be in receivership.
Posted by Benbelrose (anonymous) on September 14, 2008 at 8:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The fact that the County is now the only arbiter in the PUGAMP area opens up the entire JLMA to development that only the County has a role in. Therefore, big box stores can be imposed with no Town oversight whatsoever. With respect to traffic the County's own traffic study reveals that HS3 will make traffic worse in Town. A convenient fact that Belrose seems to ignore. Then again I read in the local papers that Ben Belrose was the campaign manager for the losing candidates in the last Purcellville election. I guess he still hasn't gotten over being trounced. And, by the way, most of us in Loudoun County are from somewhere else.
Posted by LoudounModerate (anonymous) on September 14, 2008 at 8:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I graduated in this county over 30 years ago.
I have two kids that graduated from Valley.
I have 5 more children that will attend Valley (or hopefully a new High School). I have been paying County taxes, State taxes, and some city taxes for 31 years. If the town attempts any legal blocks of the next High School, they will likely see a city in revolt against the leadership.
Posted by rljames (anonymous) on September 14, 2008 at 10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I and the previous 6 generations have lived in Loudoun County. I graduated from LVHS along with my husband and 2 of our 3 children. The third is currently at LVHS. I am so tired of seeing my tax dollars go EAST and nothing being done in the WEST. Not only can we not get a high school built but we can't even get lights at Franklin park for any rec use! It's absurd that we have to travel to Sterling during the week for football games and baseball because of the lights!! What will the parents in P'ville do when they have to bus their kids to Leesburg and beyond for High School!! We already have our children on the bus for over an hour to go to Valley and I'll be one mad parent it they extend my childs ride another 30 - 40 minutes! The town and the county need to suck it up and build the school! NOW!! on Fields Farm! Join the forces at www.woodgrovenow.com!!
Posted by DriversFriend (anonymous) on September 15, 2008 at 11:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The current town administration was elected overwhelmingly by folks not wanting to get shafted by the county. If they dont fight to get the county to do their fair share they will be betraying the people they who elected them. I for one hope they do whatever possible to stop a school from ever being built at Fields.
Posted by jjkbird (anonymous) on September 16, 2008 at 11:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's time to think outside the box ... we can't afford the loans on the schools we have, let alone to build more. Instead of spending $13000 to teach a kid in a trailer, how about giving half of that to parents to teach at home or private school? The Blue Ridge Leader (local paper) is going to discuss that this week ... rather than wait 3 more years for a new school, we could relieve overcrowding next year. And when the student numbers drop (as they inevitably will), we won't be stuck with schools we can't use but still are paying for.
Posted by gensubs (anonymous) on September 16, 2008 at 1:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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