Loudoun School Board

[Stinger]

All,

Thank you for taking time to read this as you ponder your choices for next week's election (Tues Nov 8) for your representatives to our School and Supervisor Boards. 

 

Based on many reasons, including the 10 listed below, I believe strongly that our current representatives on the School Board, Bergel, Reed and Godfrey have NOT acted in the best interest of western Loudoun children, families and businesses.  Many of you may remember how I urged you to vote for Jennifer Bergel 4 years ago.  Sadly her position has drastically changed she was elected (i.e., allegiance to LCPS administration instead of her constituents).  This has caused me to withdraw all support for her.

 

If you want to join me and hundreds of Loudoun citizens who are calling for change on the School Board, a change which will put your tax dollars into classrooms instead of empire-building, please vote for Bob Ohneiser (At-Large), Paul Arias (Catoctin) and Jill Turgeon (BlueRidge). 

 

Bob Ohneiser, an attorney with a private practice, is not accepting campaign contributions but has a Facebook page that details his voting record http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=130372623671657 .  You can find out more about Paul Arias, registered nurse and senior hospital administrator, at his website http://ariasforschoolboard.com/  ; and, about Jill Turgeon, a dedicated teacher, at her site  http://www.jill4schoolboard.com/ .   All these candidates have specific ideas to help teachers in their classrooms, make the schools better and manage limited funding more carefully.

 

As you may know Western Loudoun Schools PAC has been actively seeking specific reforms at LCPS.  To find out more, including finding your polling place for next Tuesday, visit their voter resources page  http://www.westernloudounschools.com/resources/voter-resources. 

 

The PAC proudly endorses western Loudoun School Board candidates Arias, Turgeon and Ohneiser.  The PAC also endorses Malcolm Baldwin http://www.baldwinforsupervisor.org/ for Supervisor.   Malcolm lives and farms in Lovettsville.  Malcolm is, and has been for many years, deeply engaged in helping our community, actively working with his neighbors on a variety of issues.

 

Please take the time and vote on Nov 8. 

Thank you for your ongoing interest and support,

Sarah Stinger

SmallTownSchools.net

 

Top 10 Reasons Bergel, Reed and Godfrey are not worthy of your votes:

1. On October 13, 2011 (Joint Committee meeting), Bergel voted AGAINST providing her constituents mapped enrollment data* and Bergel, Reed and Stevens voted AGAINST sudent enrollment trend information** in LCPS' plans for new schools (CIP).  Watch a clip here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZv03UVYoYg  or the entire 2 hour meeting :  http://lcps.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=23 )  For unknown reasons, Bergel was OK for data from other areas to be provided, but she was strongly against the public having western Loudoun and Leesburg having this information.  Why such strong resistance to sharing readily available information with the public, considering it would help justify new school bonds?  What are they trying to hide?
2. Bergel , Reed and Godfrey vote in 2011 to spend $8M budget surplus, including $4M on gadgets, instead of buying down rising debt on school construction or taxpayer relief or so many other needs. http://www.leesburg2day.com/news/schools/article_6b4b1272-8710-11e0-8e52-001cc4c002e0.html
3. Bergel, Reed and Godfrey opposed the McDonough Assemblage for the 16-18 month periods those contracts were available to LCPS (2009 and 2010).  The landowners who willingly signed binding contracts with Mr. McDonough agreeing to sell their combined 108-acres to LCPS for a future middle and high school within walking distance to the Town Center, were not just ignored, many of these landowners were treated with disrepect.  This site was perhaps the most widely accepted site to ever be proposed in feasible range of Lovettsville utilities and large enough to support both a middle and high school.  http://www.scribd.com/doc/70474675/Western-Loudoun-Schools-May-2009  LCPS has acknowledged that sites using public utility systems can be approved up to one-year faster than sites on well/septic.  An important consideration as Woodgrove enrollments continue to rise.   http://www.scribd.com/doc/70475376/School-Construction-Approvals-Faster-With-Public-Utilities-1Oct07  During the entire time the Assemblage contracts were in effect, LCPS declined to initiate any due diligence study, despite tens of thousands of unspent dollars budgeted for the project. 
4. Bergel, Reed and Godfrey authorized $180,000+ on LCPS' groundwater study of Cangiano's Wheatland Farm.   LCPS gave the work to the same Vermont-based contractor that had been working to help Cangiano subdivide the entire 400+acre Farm for residential development.  The firm spent thousand$ of taxpayer funds installing a new 100+ gallon per minute (gpm) community supply well (WLS-16) for Mr. Cangiano on a portion of his property that was never in the LCPS purchase contract.  http://www.scribd.com/doc/70477347/LCPS-Installs-Supply-Well-WLS-16-for-Cangiano
5. Through this year, Bergel, Reed and Godfrey authorized continued efforts for LCPS to buy a portion of Mr. Cangiano's Wheatland Farm.  Supervisors do not approve again http://loudoun.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=35&clip_id=1779
6. Bergel, Reed and Godfrey voted http://www.leesburg2day.com/news/article_af8f95e4-fe65-11e0-9ddf-001cc4c002e0.html  to pursue a costly appeal of a Loudoun Court decision which favored a student expelled by LCPS for accepting a sip of wine from her host family while on a LCPS-organized trip to France.  Instead of accepting the Loudoun Court ruling to clear the student's record, Bergel, Reed and Godfrey approved Hatrick's desire to appeal the decision to the Virginia Supreme Court and authorized LCPS hiring several outside attorneys for the task.  In the news article link above, Reed is quoted as saying "I feel vindicated".   This attitude and their actions show these Board members are vindictive, not compassionate, toward our children.
7. Bergel, Reed and Godfrey vote against Bob Ohneiser's motion to discuss a Request for Audit formally submitted to the School Board in Nov 2010 by 20 citizens.  The Request documents dozens of LCPS Site Acquisition Department irregularities identifed during numerous Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) file reviews.  Summary of irregularities:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/70472139/Summary-Western-Loudoun-School-Siting-History
8. Bergel, Reed and Godfrey reject land that surrounds Hillsboro Elementary on three sides (and which has paved Mountain Rd frontage); land that could be used to expand and preserve that beloved community school.  http://www.scribd.com/doc/48108785/LCPS-against-Hillsboro-ES-addition  Instead, they prefer placing a new regional elementary school in Wheatland which will ensure closure of HillsboroElementary (see #5).
9. Bergel insisted the 2007 Lovettsville Town Council Resolution of Support for a high school was no longer valid, that the Council had changed their position.  Her insistance backfired on her because in 2011 the Council, led by Tim Sparbanie, issued a new Resolution in support of a high school, and offered access to Town utilities if a nearby site were selected (which McDonough was).  http://www.lovettsvilleva.gov/downloads/School/RESOLUTION%202011-03-003%20SIGNED%20Schools.pdf
10. Bergel's waffling between 2007 (before election) and early 2008(after election).  She had been opposed to a school in Wheatland before she was elected.  In fact, in her interview with the Washington Post she stated, "Where's the homecoming parade going to be for that high school? Down Route 9?"   http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/22/AR2007062202428_2.html  (see first paragraph of second page).  Later in 2009 she abandoned her promise to Lovettsville and lobbied harder than anyone else for Wheatland.  Why can't she elaborate the reasons for her change of heart and strong preference for a Wheatland high school site over several Lovettsville high school sites?  

-->Our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) file reviews have revealed deception and lies by LCPS administrators.  Instead of holding senior staff accountable and fighting for community schools, Bergel, Reed and Godfrey continue to protect and enable LCPS staff who, for at least 6 years, have rejected community school sites that have had willing sellers, including: 1) McDonough, 2) Shoene/Engle, 3)Lovettsville Park (by flip with purchase of another site), 4) P&J Miller, 5) H&C Miller 6)Mercker, and 7)Crim, and quite effectively have worked to divide our communities.  

 

***Please do not allow the deception to continue with four more years of the same.  Vote for Arias, Ohneiser and Turgeon***

 

 

Here is summary of the Oct 13, 2011 Citizen Work Group Recommendations to the Joint Supervisor/School Board Committee.  Complete document posted on www.loudoun.gov  Recommendations:  

*1. Add Student Enrollment Projection Presentation in Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Document

a) Current and projected enrollment data for students who reside outside of the School Planning Subarea.

b) Current enrollment data for students that are not attending the school within their boundary

c) Distinction in out-year student enrollment forecasts between student growth projections for students being aged up vs. students anticipated to be generated through future residential development, particularly in areas where new schools are being recommended.

**2. Planning Models - use additional planning models to validate the growth projections and flush out statistical anomalies.

3. Cost of Overflow and Capacity Planning Figures – review the capacity thresholds that trigger new schools.

4. Land Use and Zoning Policies for Public Facilities – consider land use and policy amendments that permit public facilities to be developed by right with performance standards to reduce the cost and amount of time it to develop a public facility for public use and the amount of land needed for new public facilities (such as schools). In addition, the site selection process could be improved to place facilities where they should go rather than where land is available.