Article VIII Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia vests authority for public school districts in a school board, which may be either elected or appointed in a manner defined by law. The Loudoun County School Board is an elective board composed of nine members. One at-large member is elected in a county-wide race, and the remaining eight members are elected by voters in each of the eight named county districts.

Previously, members served concurrent four-year terms on the same election schedule as the Virginia Senate. The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation in 2021 allowing for the board’s terms to be staggered, which the board approved.

Four seats, which were chosen in a random drawing by the Loudoun County Electoral Board, are now at the mid-point of a normal four-year term. Those will continue to hold elections every four years on the same schedule as the Virginia Senate. The other five seats are up for election this year following a one-time shortened two-year term. These will continue to hold elections every four years on the same schedule as the Governor of Virginia.

School board seats are legally nonpartisan offices. Candidates will not be labeled with a political party on the ballot, but political parties often endorse their preferred candidates.

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Under Article VII, Section 10, of the Constitution of Virginia, local governments must obtain voter approval through referendums to issue general obligation bonds. On this November’s ballot, voters in Loudoun County, Virginia, will be asked to consider three such referendums.

Bonds are debt. The issuing government sells them to investors and receives an immediate influx of cash, but, like a bank loan, the funds must be repaid over time—at the taxpayers’ expense—with interest. Generally, I believe governments should only incur public debt when:

1. a project is necessary for the public good,
2. its benefits will far outlast the repayment period, and
3. it cannot be reasonably funded through other means.

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