Loudoun County voters will decide the fate of nine local bond questions on the ballot Tuesday, Nov. 7. The residents of this rapidly growing county should vote yes; they badly need all of the improvements the bonds will fund.
Five of the questions relate to schools, and by all rights should be a single question. Voters should vote yes on all the school questions, whether or not they have children in the schools or live in the particular area. Excellent schools are a cornerstone of a thriving economic climate and key to supporting property values, benefiting every resident of the county.
The Board of Supervisors split the school bond question, which in almost any other locality would be listed as a single item. Voter should not take the bait offered by this divisive choice. Vote yes for Dulles South and Ashburn elementary schools, for a Leesburg-area high school, for renovations at Blue Ridge, Seneca Ridge, Simpson, and Sterling middle schools, and renovations at another middle and high school.
The other bond questions also deserve a yes vote.
A yes for public safety projects will buy land for two fire stations, Aldie and Neersville, and a western Loudoun sheriff outpost. County residents and leaders will have to grapple in coming years with the question of whether to greatly increase resources to the Sheriff’s department or establish a police department.
The North Street building renovations will make room for a senior center, library services and more. Other questions would provide funding for improvements to the Loudoun County Parkway, plus a variety of other road improvements, all needed.
— Mary Kimm