September 12, 2008 3:32 PM
Loudoun County Public Schools victory!
On the local front, students at our local high school in Purcellville have been dealing with such horrendous overcrowding for years that the 9th grade was long ago relocated to join with 8th grade to form an "intermediate" school.
For years 10th grade students have not been included in school assemblies, but see them on monitors in their classrooms.
The problem? Not Loudoun County, which already has a piece of property they purchased long ago for a new high scool on the other side of Purcellville and has been poised to build there for years. No, the problem has been the leadership of Purcellville, who have spent taxpayer money in litigation to block the building of the school.
Think of the thousands of dollars spent by the town and consequently the county as their lawyers have dragged this up to the Virginia Supreme Court.
The losers? In addition to the taxpayers, the students.
Thank goodness the Virginia Supreme Court has put this to rest. I pray Purcellville will stop wasting money and let the county get on with building the school we so desperately need.
Just released:
The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that the County of Loudoun has sole authority over location decisions for public facilities in the Purcellville Urban Growth Area located outside the Town of Purcellville's corporate limits. The decision came as a result of a series of lawsuits brought by the Town of Purcellville against Loudoun County to challenge the proposed Western Loudoun High School location north of the town. The court rejected the argument that the Town of Purcellville had authority to decide whether new public facilities, such as the high school, could locate in this unincorporated area of the county. That decision lies only with the county.The court also decided that the proposed high school is not a feature shown on the Purcellville Urban Growth Area Management Plan, and so its location must be submitted by the Loudoun County School Board to the Loudoun County Planning Commission for a determination that it is in substantial accord with the plan. This review is referred to as a "Commission Permit."
County Attorney Jack Roberts said; "I am pleased with the court's ruling. It rejected the town's fundamental assertion that it had authority beyond its borders to veto the location of public facilities."
Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott York said; "The next step is to work with the School Board to coordinate the filing and scheduling of a Commission Permit request so that we can move forward with this desperately needed school."
See Supreme Court ruling leaves few options for Purcellville.
Posted in Loudoun County, Public schools | Permalink
Comments
What? Why on earth would they fight to prevent a SCHOOL from being built? That's ridiculous!
Posted by: Michelle | September 12, 2008 3:58 PM
Why in the world did the town of Purcellville think it had any authority to regulate what Loudoun County did in Loudoun County, outside of the town limits?! Crazy.
Posted by: Anna | September 12, 2008 4:56 PM
