Fields Farm Appeal Continues

The Supreme Court of Virginia will hear the Fields Farm appeal.

The Virginia Supreme Court decided this week to consider appeals in a case that will determine whether Loudoun County can build a badly needed high school in the western part of the county over the objections of the town of Purcellville.

At issue is whether a land use agreement gives Purcellville the right to issue or deny a permit for a high school planned on county-owned land two miles north of town limits. A circuit court in Loudoun upheld the validity of the agreement in March but also ruled the county had a right to build a high school on the site because plans for it were featured on a jointly agreed-upon map. The town and the county appealed those decisions. - LoudounExtra

The fact that the school Loudoun desparately needs is being held up in court reflects very poorly on the way the County has managed planning and development in the past four years.

There was an amazing appeal to the voters of Loudoun County in Leesburg Today recently. Lea Colburn, of Purcellville, wrote a letter that eloquently described the iniquities of attending high school in western Loudoun County.

As my class of 500 graduates in June, we will be replaced by the current freshmen, whose class has about 660 students this year at Harmony Intermediate School. It is a challenge getting to class with out colliding with another person. In some of my classes, students have to sit backwards to see the board, all so the class can fit 30 students. During assemblies, there is no room in the auditorium for the three grades. The sophomores have to watch a televised version in classrooms.

The school's facilities become a challenge to use. Going to the restrooms turns into a five-minute process since the bathroom with the most stalls only has four. Each is constantly used by the long line of girls, at least until one runs out of toilet paper. - Lea Colburn in Leesburg Today

The disputes between the town of Purcellville, the School Board, the Board of Supervisors and parents throughout western Loudoun over the school at Fields Farm is doing direct harm to the quality of the education received by students in western Loudoun.

And the problem is not limited to Purcellville.

Meanwhile, the school board last night voted to abandon plans to build a middle and elementary school on the Grubb farm property east of Hillsboro. The proposal faced strong opposition from neighbors and an uncertain future as county planners and planning commission members argued that schools should be build in or near towns, not in rural areas. The board members, who thanked the Grubb family for their support over the past year, voted 7-1-1 to terminate the purchase contract with the sales. John Stevens (Potomac) voted against termination, saying that the land should be purchased and held for future public uses. Chairman Robert F. DuPree (Dulles) abstained. - Leesburg Today

John Stevens should be commended for having the courage to stand up for our students need for schools.

Fixing the problem locating and building schools in Loudoun should be issue number one for the incoming Board of Supervisors. The new Board has promised to initiate a new spirit of cooperation and communication among the Supervisors, the School Board and the citizens of Loudoun.