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LeesburgToday VOLUME 26
NUMBER 48
NOVEMBER 27, 2014 Educa t io n
LEGAL NOTICES 42
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OBITUARIES 51
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LETTERS PAGE 52
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Projected School Needs Put Starting Tax Rate At $1.22 Sports
Loudoun County Claims Record Seventh State Volleyball Title
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L if e s t yle s
o pay for increased school costs in the next fiscal year, Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors might have to raise the real estate tax rate by as much as 6.5 cents, according to preliminary
Cla ssi fi ed
figures. After hearing that public school costs could go up by as much as $67.1 million in the budget year that begins July 1, some supervisors asked the county staff to run the numbers to see what an uptick of that magnitude would mean in terms of the real estate tax, the main generator of local revenue. Supervisors would have to raise the current tax rate by 5 cents, which would mean it would go from $1.155 per $100 of assessed value to $1.205 per $100. The Loudoun School Board also voted last month to ask the supervisors to refund $12.5 million that reverted to the county coffers in fiscal 2010. That money was taken to address a forecast county revenue shortfall that didn’t end up occurring. So now the School Board would like it back to help fill a deficit in its health care fund and postpone hikes in employees’ coverage costs until 2016. If the supervisors agree to that move and to cover the $67.1 million, the real estate tax rate would be in for a 6.5-cent increase, to $1.22 per $100 of valuation. That scenario seems unlikely, but supervisors said this week that they know they’re in for a rough budget season, with number-crunching and negotiating going on for the next five months or so. The projected equalized tax rate that has been targeted by county supervisors hoping to keep tax bills level for the election-year budget is $1.13. Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau (R-Dulles) said last week it was too early to tell exactly what
Opini o n
County rolled to its state-record seventh title Saturday as it defeated James Wood with a threegame sweep in the Group 4A final at the Stuart C. Siegel Center at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. The Raiders (29-2) defeated James Wood Continued on Page 20
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he more things change, the more they stay the same. Last year, the Loudoun County volleyball team rolled through the season unbeaten and won its sixth state cham-
pionship in seven years. But with the graduation of five seniors and the retirement of longtime coach Jenica Brown, many felt the Raiders might not be able to carry the dynasty forward. “Many” should not have worried. Under the tutelage of first-year head coach Sherrilyn Hanna and with several key players returning, Loudoun
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Loudoun County celebrates the match winning point during the VHSL Group 4A girls state volleyball championship against James Wood at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond.
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