Quick Facts:
1) Loudoun County government devotes nearly 75 percent of its local tax dollars to the school system, compared to Prince William's 47 percent.
2) Loudoun County has the highest graduation rate in the region at 92.5 percent.
3) According to Newsweek Magazine's recent ratings, every Loudoun County High School was ranked in the top 5 percent of all U.S. high schools. Four schools, including Stone Bridge, ranked in the top 1 percent.
4) Local tax funding for schools has risen from $362 million in FY04 to over $619 million in FY08, which is a 72 percent increase. Yet, student enrollment growth is up only 33.6 percent over that same four year period.
5) The Loudoun County School Board often requests 15 to 20 percent more money than they were given the previous year. If the Board of Supervisors were to have fully funded their requests over the past four years, every average homeowner would have to write a check for $1,000 in additional County taxes.
6) While SAT scores dropped in most counties in the region for the Class of 2007, Loudoun County reported higher scores.

There is no doubt that Loudoun County has great schools, and adequate funding is provided locally to ensure that quality public education will continue far into the future.

While Loudoun County Public Schools often seek a budget 15 to 20 percent above the previous year's budget, Lori has supported more reasonable increases that account for population growth plus inflation. The debate is NEVER about CUTTING the budget. It is always about how much to increase funding, and the answer is always in the tens of millions. Fully funding the school budget requested by the School Board each year would have resulted in even higher tax rates:

Local tax funding for schools has increased 72 percent from FY04 to FY08. The FY 08 school budget alone now accounts for more than the entire combined school-county budget adopted in FY05. Supervisor Waters believes that additional funds should be given for schools each year to cover the population plus inflation costs as well as then engaging the school board about funding for particular efforts to achieve specific goals, such as increasing math and reading scores. As demonstrated in the chart above though, the school's budget increases far exceeded that amount.

Although the School Board ultimately decides how to allocate the lump sum provided by the Board of Supervisors, Lori has urged School Board members to:

1. focus on pay raises for teachers in the classroom, not for school employees already making over $100,000;
2. reevaluate school construction policies to achieve greater efficiencies and determine how to achieve a 2 to 5 percent savings (saving $5 million on $100 million high school projects for instance);
3. fulfill previous promises made regarding extra-curricular activities and sports since these activities keep youth positively engaged after school and out of trouble; and
4. timely return to the county any unexpended funds allocated for school construction projects already completed.

While the Board of Supervisors does not decide education programs, curriculum, or staffing, the Board does control level of funding and timing for school construction referendum questions. During the FY2007 budget, Lori drafted a capital construction plan that was partially adopted and sought to rein in school construction costs by asking the School Board to look at processes to achieve cost savings of 2 to 5 percent. Lori also successfully won the votes to move up the schedule for construction of a new Ashburn-area elementary school (ES-19) to relieve overcrowding. This school bond was approved by the voters in 2006, and the new school will be located on the proffered One Loudoun site near Loudoun County Parkway and Marblehead.

While the School Board has complete jurisdiction over school boundary decisions, Lori believes that the School Board should give those students who live close to one school the choice to attend that school, regardless of the cluster system. She stepped in to lobby School Board members on behalf of parents in the Broad Run District during the recent debate over Stone Hill Middle School boundaries. Most Broad Run District neighborhoods were greatly impacted under many scenarios. She particularly sought to keep all Lansdowne students at Belmont Ridge, Belmont Country Club students at Belmont Ridge, and Ashbrook and University Center students at Farmwell, instead of being bussed past Farmwell miles away to Stone Hill. All of those goals were achieved, but overcrowding at Farmwell in particular will also result under the adopted plan.

Given the particular sensitive nature of keeping elementary school students in their neighborhood schools, Lori has used land use applications to help prevent boundary changes. For instance, during the Lansdowne Village Greens application, Lori negotiated for the developer to provide funding to build four additional classrooms at Seldens Landing Elementary School. By increasing the school's capacity, Lansdowne students can stay within the neighborhood to go school, instead of being split between schools and bussed across Route 7.

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