Positions
League of Women Voters of Loudoun County
Public Policy Positions
Where we stand on the issues.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The League of Women Voters of Loudoun County supports the following positions:
- Adequate number of safe shelters for abused women and their children.
- Emphasis on proven programs and well-trained personnel in Loudoun County for counseling the abused and their families and rehabilitation of the abuser.
- Continuing inclusion of education about 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 full funding of public schools to ensure quality 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 and full funding for special programs for children and schools that have specific needs.More specifically, the LWVLC:
- Supports continuous curriculum units on Family Life Education for grades K-12.
- Supports the availability of outstanding guidance services in public schools.
- Supports equitable funding for school libraries throughout Loudoun County to maintain a high standard of quality.
- Supports salaries for school employees that are competitive with salaries in the DC Metropolitan area.
- Supports local control of education by locally elected school boards.
- Supports laws which protect a child's health and 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.
- 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 that:- 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 historical significance.
- Consideration of all purposes of zoning, as defined in the Virginia State Code, in local land 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 as stated in local zoning ordinances, 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. The state should plan and fund transportation projects based upon suggestions by the local government and as approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board and the General Assembly.
- 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 as implemented by the zoning ordinances. 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 Forest 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 MANAGEMENT
The League of Women Voters of Loudoun County supports the following positions:
- Volume reduction of solid waste through recycling, reuse, alternative packaging, and sustainable consumption practices.
- The 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.
- 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 is used as a method 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.