League of Women Voters of Loudoun County Public Policy Positions

League of Women Voters^®
of Loudoun County

League of Women Voters of Loudoun County Public Policy Positions

Where we stand on the issues.

Domestic Violence. Education. Land Use. Local Government. Solid Waste Disposal. Water and Sewer.

Domestic Violence

The League of Women Voters of Loudoun County supports the following positions:

Adequate shelters for abused women and their children if the current shelter becomes insufficient.

Emphasis on adequate programs and personnel in Loudoun County for counseling and rehabilitation of abusers as well as the abused.

Continuing inclusion of education about spouse abuse and its causes, treatment, and prevention in the curriculum in the Loudoun County school system.

Enforcement of existing state laws to protect the victims of abuse.

Education

The League of Women Voters of Loudoun County supports adequate funding of public schools to ensure adequate teacher training and pay, safe and pleasant physical facilities, the development of well-rounded and challenging curricular and extra-curricular programs, and the development of special programs for at-risk children and schools.
More specifically, the LWVLC:

Supports continuous curriculum units on Family Life Education for grades K-12.

Supports the availability of adequate guidance services in public schools.

Supports adequate funding for school libraries to maintain a high standard of quality.

Supports competitive salaries for teachers.

Supports local control of education by locally chosen school boards.

Supports laws which protect a child's health and/or safety.

Opposes the Parental Rights Amendment or the inclusion of the Parental Rights Amendment language in any legislation.

Supports Loudoun County Public Schools policies which prohibit student possession of any weapon for any reason while under school control or supervision.

Believes that an effective public education assessment program should determine each student's progress, knowledge, and critical thinking skills in addition to determining the effectiveness of the educators and the curriculum. LWVLC supports a public education assessment program which:
- is non-threatening
- considers both a student's long-term and short-term performance
- measures strengths and weaknesses of students, teachers and the system
- considers class participation and in-class performance
- utilizes a "portfolio" of various examples of a student's work
- utilizes multiple assessments of a student's achievement
- utilizes a variety of assessment tools and techniques (such as objective and subjective tests, lab work, class projects, essays)

Believes that an assessment program should ensure that each child reaches his or her full potential.

Land Use

The League of Women Voters of Loudoun County supports and encourages the following positions:

Development guidelines that aspire to the highest community standards, are sensitive to the integrity of social, economic and natural systems and are in harmony with the county's character and goals.

Consideration of all purposes of zoning, as defined in the Virginia State Code, in local use decisions.

Evaluation of long-term consequences of land use decisions, specifically on the environment (i.e., soil erosion, water quality and supply) highway congestion, the burden on the school system, fiscal impact, preservation of prime agricultural land, and scenic and historic resources.

The legal doctrine of "presumption of legislative validity" as it is applied to land use decisions by local governments, based on the premise that local governing bodies are the appropriate decision makers, being closest to local conditions, and that it is the role of the courts to ensure fairness of the proceedings.

Implementation of open space and environmental protection policies.

Public acquisition of open space easements, especially in critical environmental areas, areas of scenic, natural and historic significance, and agricultural lands.

Implementation of a transportation plan that results in a pattern of development consistent with land use and fiscal policies, and with consideration for the health, safety and convenience of local citizens.

Adherence to the planning process, as set forth in the Comprehensive Plan, the goals and purposes, as set forth in the Comprehensive Plan, and the following elements of the Comprehensive Plan in particular:

- Preservation of the agricultural industry and the best agricultural soils to "preserve the cultural, social, economic, environmental and aesthetic amenities provided by agricultural land use;"

- Active County programs and policies to preserve open space and farmland;

- Density transfers from agricultural and open space areas to designated growth areas within a planning district, and the concept of Purchase of Development Rights;

- The budgeting and expenditure of county funds for agricultural land preservation programs including the strengthening of Agricultural and Forestal Districts.

Provision of a range of housing opportunities for low and moderate income families.

Local Government

The League of Women Voters of Loudoun County supports the following positions:

Alternative methods of financing local government to lessen the reliance on real estate taxes for revenue.

Solid Waste Disposal

The League of Women Voters of Loudoun County supports the following positions:

Establishment of a program for the collection of hazardous waste by the county.

The covering or containing of solid waste transferred through the county.

Containment of any solid waste buried in the county to prevent contamination of the environment.

Volume reduction of solid waste through recycling, reuse, alternative packaging and sustainable consumption practices.

Monitoring by an appropriate governmental group of burn temperature, air emissions, environmental impact of residue disposal in landfills, including air, water (surface and ground), and soil testing, when incineration if used as a od of solid waste disposal.

Water and Sewer

The League of Women Voters of Loudoun County supports and encourages the following positions:

Protection of all watersheds serving Loudoun County in order to maintain purity of the drinking water supply and the health of in-stream aquatic systems.

Payment of the costs of new community water and sewage systems by the users of each separate system.

Regular pumping of septic tanks and checking of distribution boxes.

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: July 18, 2008 13:05 PDT.