Growth pushes new funding efforts in Loudoun County

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The fast-paced growth of Loudoun County Public Schools is pushing officials to seek millions of dollars in new revenue.

With projections showing the student population skyrocketing by more than 40 percent through 2011-2012, the county will need to build another 20 schools at a cost of $1.3 billion, Superintendent Ed Hatrick said this week.

Enrollment increased 7.1 percent, or 3,569 students, to 54,047 in the past year.

“We’re going to have capital demands as far as the eye can see,” School Board President Robert Dupree told The Examiner. “When we're talking 3,500 students, the growth we had this year is the equivalent of a high school, a middle school and an elementary school at the same time.”

The school system is anticipated to add 21,000 students, including this year’s increase, by September 2011, according to the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service student population forecast.

The problem is driving the school board’s proposal for new laws including the authority to levy an extra 1 percent sales tax in Loudoun County and an additional local cigarette tax to help pay for education.

Though one lawmaker called such plans “dead on arrival” in the General Assembly, Dupree said the proposals add to the debate.

While the tax plans have no hope in the General Assembly, Del. David Poisson, D-Loudoun, said citizens are concerned about the cost of rapid expansion with “no end in sight.”

“When you are increasing schools by four to five a year, that takes an incredible toll on the tax base of the locality,” Poisson said.

One alternative is creating new state funding for schools experiencing unabated, explosive growth, Poisson said. The schools also should look at cutting building costs by sharing some facilities, such as sports fields and libraries, among multiple schools on the same property, he said.

But the new construction is just one aspect of the mounting costs. School officials estimate their operating budget also will increase more than $300 million, from $690.6 million to $997.5 million by 2012.

“It’s a daunting challenge,” Dupree said.

dgenz@dcexaminer.com