Supervisors try to settle school lawsuit

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - A pitched legal and political battle over building a second Loudoun County public high school just outside the town of Purcellville could be coming to a close.

County supervisors voted Tuesday to seek a settlement in the legal challenge headed to the Virginia Supreme Court after years of bitter disputes about school placement.

The town has argued that building two high schools about a mile apart would overwhelm the local road network. County leaders have responded there were no other feasible options to quickly address massive overcrowding.

“We need to move forward and get the school built because we need the room for the students,” Loudoun County Chairman Scott York said.

Although town Mayor Bob Lazaro proposed seeking a settlement with the county last month, some supervisors continued to signal anger with the town's position. The county's action does not necessarily assure the years of bickering are over.

School Superintendent Edgar Hatrick had warned the county would need to introduce split morning and evening schedules at the school if no solution could be reached in the next two years because of rampant overcrowding.

The projected growth doesn’t give the county time to develop a construction plan for a different site, supervisors said.

“It would take four or five years to get another high school, and we don’t have another four or five years,” said Supervisor Jim Burton, who represents the Purcellville area. “Loudoun Valley High School has the largest number of students of any school in the county.”

In addition to the traffic concerns, town leaders argued the school’s construction violated an agreement with the county about how the area outside the town should be developed.

dgenz@dcexaminer.com