Court Ruling On Purcellville High School, “Loudoun 5″ Now “Tuscarora”

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled today that the Loudoun County Planning Commission must review its plans for a new high school to be located just outside the town of Purcellville. Here's an excerpt from the article on Loudoun Extra:

"The town has fought the county for years on the issue, objecting that the location of the high school differs from what was contemplated in a growth plan adopted in 1995, and that the planned school would bring unwanted traffic and infrastructure problems to an area that has already experienced fast-paced growth.

The nuanced court ruling asserts that the location of the planned school is at odds from what was in the original growth plan — a point the county had disputed. That will trigger a review by the planning commission with jurisdiction over the area. The court ruled today that commission is the county's, not the town's.

The ruling seems in some ways a setback for the town, leaving relatively few roadblocks to construction of the school."

In a related story, the Loudoun County School Board has officially named the county's newest high school, to be built in Leesburg. It's official name will be "Tuscarora High School" after an American Indian tribe. Find the full story and a map of the proposed school site over at Loudoun Extra.

 

Eat Out In Loudoun To Help Pay For Schools?

Eat out in Loudoun County in order to help pay for schools? Sounds odd, doesn’t it… Well, that’s what Loudoun is proposing - a 4 percent meal tax on "prepared meals" that will go directly to Loudoun County public schools.

Loudoun County officials are even saying that the money generated from the meal tax could replace property taxes. (Do Loudoun residents really eat out that much?!)

The referendum will be on the ballot in November so you have plenty of time to chew on it before voting on it.

Source: NBC4.com

Information About Loudoun County Schools - Public and Private

If you’re looking for information and stats about any or all Loudoun County public or private schools, here are two sites that may come in handy:

1. School Matters (by Standard & Poor’s) - This site has all the basic data on public schools such as test scores, school and district demographics, all in a clean, easy-to-use interface.
2. Great Schools (independent, not-for-profit, winner Best Family & Parenting Site - 2007 People’s Voice Awards) - This site is less streamlined, but does more. It has info on private schools, its own school-rating system and its own writers.

Both sites also have parents’ reviews of schools, though GreatSchools seems to have more to read.

To check out the official Loudoun County Public Schools web site, click here.

Related Posts

"Local Explorer" Good Source Of Info About Loudoun County Area, Schools, Home Sales, Crime

Resources (Other Than Real Estate) For Loudoun County, Virginia

Loudoun County Public Schools Don’t Make List Of Most Challenging To Students

Sixteen schools in the DC/MD/VA area made the Top 100 list of the 2007 Washington Post Challenge Index, but none were from Loudoun County. The index measures a public high school’s effort to challenge its students. The rating is not a measurement of the overall quality of the school, but illuminates one factor that many educators consider important.

According the Washington Post, "the formula is simple":

"Divide the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests a school gave by the number of seniors who graduated in June. Tests taken by all students, not just seniors, are counted. Magnet or charter schools with SAT combined verbal and math averages higher than 1300, or ACT average scores above 27, are not included, since they do not have enough average students who need a challenge."

All of the schools on the list have an index of at least 1.000 and are in the top 5 percent of public schools measured this way. If you have 2006 data showing that your school should be on this list, please contact Jay Mathews at challenge@washpost.com. You may be able to expand the list to include your school.

Further Reading:

FAQ’s about the Challenge Index by The Washington Post