Park View High School Construction

Dear Editor: 

I attended the Park View HS construction meeting on September 6. The community was out in force and was very vocal about their concerns with the new construction.

The main concerns centered around Sterling getting what they rightfully deserve for their children after years of neglect from the school board and LCPS. 

It is a legitimate concern and members of the community wanted to know about the size of the proposed school, what special programs would be included in the new facility, vocational education, athletic facilities, and parking.

Neal Slevin from LCPS spoke about implementing technical programs as feeders to Amazon and data centers, but was oblivious to comments from the audience that the community would like vocational programs for trades like electrical, plumbing, HVAC, construction.

Mr. Slevin missed the mark entirely that the community has a large blue-collar contingency and skilled training in the trades is something they’d like to see in the new PVHS project, in addition to programs for college bound students.

The CIP budget for the school was most likely in place for several years yet LCPS said getting land and zoning variances would be time consuming and implied it could delay the project. Why didn’t LCPS think about this years ago when the money was set aside? Did anyone consider that given the restriction on acreage in Sterling that LCPS would have to be creative to get the same square footage for an identical school in Sterling. They would either have to build up or down if restricted to two stories or look to acquire land from Sterling MS or Claude Moore Park. 

 My opinion is that the project would have been delayed even longer had it not been for the community, LCPS employees, and students coming to school board meetings to bring attention to the disparity of resources being allocated to Sterling. 

I found it ironic that the Sterling school board representative proclaimed her loyalty and love for Park View, yet after twelve years on the board she was ineffective at advocating for Park View until now. One parent proclaimed that she was tired of Sterling being “bottom feeders” when it came to getting resources from LCPS.

My takeaway from the meeting is that the community needs to remain vocal, active, and vigilant in its advocacy for the school that they deserve as Loudoun County residents and taxpayers. The school board likes to throw around its Title I schools like a sort of prize. But I don’t see any concerted efforts to help those schools despite so many equity mission statements, proclamations, strategic plans, and an entire LCPS department focused on equity.

It is imperative that the massive school budget for one of the richest counties in the Commonwealth be allocated appropriately across all districts so that all children in Loudoun County are given the facilities and the resources they need to be successful.

Michael Rivera, At-Large School Board Candidate