8/14/12

School boundaries in Leesburg make it to court once again | LoudounTimes.com

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SchoolboundariesinLeesburgmakeittocourtonceagain
Wednesday,Aug.8,2012byLauraPeters,TimesMirrorStaffWriter|13comments|Emailthisstory

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LeesburgresidentswenttocourtAug.7overschoolboundariesissuesthathavebeenbrewing foralmostayear. OrganizedbyresidentEricDekenipp,theresidentsofclusterCL19firstoutlinedtheirconcerns inarequesttotheLoudounCountySchoolBoard,LoudounCountyBoardofSupervisors, PotomacStationHomeOwnersAssociationandstateSen.MarkHerring(D33rd)latelastyear. ThetopicstemsfromthepastSchoolBoardwhocametoadecisioninDecembertoadoptthe BergelPlan2Amended,whichsplitthechildrenlivinginzoneCL19betweenthenewFrederick DouglassElementarySchoolandJohnW.TolbertJr.ElementarySchool. DekenippandhislawyerJohnWhitbeckappearedbeforeLoudounCountyCircuitCourtJudge ThomasD.HorneviaconferencecallwithrepresentationoftheCL5(BeaconHill)zoneattorney MichaelPetkovichrepresentingJeremyAckeragainstLoudounCountyPublicSchoolscouncil JulieJudkinsandStephenDeVitaAug.7forapretrialconference. ThemaindiscussionwasoverwitnessesthatwillbepresentedduringtheAug.1415trial. JudkinsconcernwasfortheplaintiffstocallformerSchoolBoardmembers,BobOhneiserand TomMarshall. Theywanttobringinformerdisgruntledmemberstovoicetheiropinions,Judkinssaidof theirwitnessestobeformerSchoolBoardmembers.TobringinSchoolBoardmemberswhen therearetranscriptsfromthemeetings,toexpresstheiropinionswhatrelevancedoesthat have? Theyarecomingherevoluntarilytoprovidefacts,Petkovichsaid.OhneiserandMarshallare criticaltotheprocess.Howarewegoingtoprovidefactualevidence? Atotalof106residentssignedthepetitionlastyearrepresenting135studentsundertheageof11 intheCL19zoneunderquestion. TheheatedtopicoftheCL19schoolboundaryissueswasbroughtupincourtpreviouslyApril 27. Petkovichsaidthepreviousboardmadealotofcriticaldecisionsbehindcloseddoorsandin openmeetingsthatthepublicwasntawareof.InJudkinsdefense,LCPShadprovided everythingrequiredundertheVirginiastatuteanddidprovideemailsthatwererequestedby bothpetitioners. Accordingtotheletter,oneofthoseconcernsincludedafailuretoachievethepubliclystated goalsandobjectivesoutlinedthroughoutthehearingprocess. Atallsevenhearings,afewofthestatedgoalsweretorelieveJohnW.TolbertJr.Elementary frombeingovercapacity,balancetheFreeandReducedLunchandtheESLratio,theletter states.TheadoptedplanisclearlynotthesolutionbecauseundertheplanbothFreeLunch andESLratiosareover30percentatFrederickDouglass,whichmakesitthehighestpopulated inbothcategoriesforelementaryschoolsintheLeesburgarea. TheletteralsoquestionstheproximityanddemographicsofthestudentsinCL19. Cluster19.0residentswillnowhavetobus/dropofftheirchildrentoasitethatislocated approximately3milesawayintheoppositedirection,comparedtoadoortodoorproximity withTolbertelementaryof0.2miles.Maintainingproximitywasagoaloftheboard,butthis goalwasnotmet,andthedecisionwillcreatechildcareandtransportationhardshipsforour families,thelettersays.Thepubliclystateddemographicgoalswerenotmetwiththeplanthat
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8/14/12

School boundaries in Leesburg make it to court once again | LoudounTimes.com

wasadopted.Infact,theadoptedplanactuallycreatedanewschoolwithdemographicrates thatareinconsistent,unsoundandraisethequestionofwhetherspecificcommunitieswere givenspecialinterestbasedoneconomicandpoliticalinfluence. Theresidentsalsofeelthatalackofclaritycontinuedtobeaproblemthroughoutthisprocess, despitetheschoolsystemprovidingalettertoparentsofschoolagedchildrenregardingthe possiblerezoning. Toourknowledge,familieswithoutchildreninLCPSdidnotreceivealetterviaUSPSorany otherofficialcommunication.MostofCL19.0familiesthatwehavespokenwithfeelasthough wehavenotbeenproperlyinformedbytheschoolboardthroughouttheentirerezoning process,theletterstates.Duringthetimeperiodofthesevenpublichearings,noneofour familieshadreceivedanyofficialcorrespondencefromtheboardregardingourclusters inclusionintherezoningplanandthatwehadthepossibilityofmoving. HornewillpresentthelistofwitnesseswhentheCL19boundariestrialstartsat9a.m.Aug.14. Theproposedlistcouldhaveupto10witnesses.

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Comments
Mon,Aug13at11:23AMbyTRUTH|Reportthiscomment Weekly HomesGuide Guide toLoudoun Holiday GiftGuide

Ifyoumayrecall,Mr.Stevens,thatwastheverymeetingduringwhichthe presidentofRiverCreekemailedyoupledgingfinancialsupportiftheBallsBluff parentsagreedtodropourrequestforstudentredistribution.Youplacedthe emaildirectlyinfrontofme,towhichmyresponsewasItsnotaboutthe money,rathertheacademicinequalities.Andsoyouarealreadyaware,that offermysteriouslydisappearedaftertheparentsofFHRwontheirlobbytokeep FHRlowdiversityandovercrowded.Intheend,allwewereleftwithwasour underachievingschoolandalotofwastedprecioustimeandeffortthatgreatly ImpactedourIndividualfamilies. Itwasaverydisappointingperiodforallofus.IImmediatelysoughtfulltime employmenttopreparefortheadditionalexpenseofaprivateschooleducation formyyoungest,whohadsomespecialneedsofhisownwhichmostdefinitely wouldnothavebeenadequatelyaccommodatedatthealreadyoverburdened BallsBluffElementary. EmailfromaBallsBluffESparenttoFrmrChairmanJohnStevensdated 11/20/2011
Sun,Aug12at10:57AMbySpark|Reportthiscomment

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Mykidswererezonedforelementaryandhighschool.Theydidfineatboth schools.Infact,itturnedouttobeablessing,asthenewlybuilthighschoolhad alotmoreproblems,thantheonetheyendedupgoingto.Noeasyanswerhere, butthatswhathappenswithcontinuedgrowth,bothplannedandunplanned. Thewellonlyholdssomuchwater.

Fri,Aug10at04:03PMbyTRUTH|Reportthiscomment

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RiverCreekhaswellover1100homes.Thevalueofthosehomesisroughly $400,000,000.Wepaywellover$5,000,000peryearintaxes.IfRiverCreek movestoadifferentelementaryschoolitwillnegativelyimpacttaxrevenuesand thereforefundsfortheschoolsweareseekingtoimprove Emaildate10/27/11senttoLCSBmemberJenniferBergelfromKeithHoward, KellerWilliamsLoudounGatewayRealtor

Thu,Aug09at01:04PMbyclarification|Reportthiscomment

Justtoclarifytherewere108signaturesrepresentingapproximately50 studentsfromCl19.0notthe135studentslikethearticlestates.Also,Potomac stationHoawasNOTsplit.lessthan50studentswererezonedtothenew schoolfromthePShoa.

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