Good evening, everyone. Thank you for being here. Welcome to the July 13th, 2026 special school board meeting. I want to thank everyone for being here tonight and also especially thank the LCPS staff who worked extremely hard to pull this together in a short amount of time so that we could have this meeting here in this space. Many of you, or all of you already know, because this did go up in our meeting announcement, that we are obviously not in our boardroom right now. Our boardroom is undergoing renovations that had been scheduled for quite some time prior to us deciding to hold this
meeting tonight. So in deciding to have the meeting, we also had to find an alternative space, and I will pat myself on the back a little bit that it was my idea to have it here at Rock Ridge High School, and I am very grateful to the LCPS staff and to the Rock Ridge staff for pulling this together and making it possible that we can have this meeting here tonight to talk about the issues that affect this community. Because of our limitations on this space, this meeting is currently being live-streamed through the LCPS website. It is not being broadcast on cable. It will be able to be viewed in the future on the LCPS
website like our other meetings. We will have public comment this evening. We are not able to have virtual public comment, so all public comment tonight will be in person only. So, with that, we will get started, and I will move on to item number 1.02 on the agenda. I have been notified that Chair Chandler would like to participate remotely in tonight's school board meeting. Madam Chair, can you please state your location and whether this is a medical or personal matter? Good evening, everyone. Can you hear me? Yes. Oh, great. I am in North Carolina, and this is a personal matter.
And is there anyone present with you at the location? My immediate family is with me at the location, but I am in a room with the door closed. Thank you, Madam Chair. This will be Chair Chandler's first remote participation for this calendar year in a school board meeting using a personal exemption. Therefore, I will entertain a motion that Chair Chandler's request to participate remotely be granted. Is there a motion? So moved. Ms. Ricardi. Thank you. Is there a second? Second. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. All those in favor, we're doing this old-fashioned, please raise your hand and say
"Aye." Aye. Raise them high so Sherry can see. Okay. And that vote is unanimous with the eight members who are present, Ms. Chandler not being present yet. Welcome to the meeting, Madam Chair. Okay. Now we will move on to item number two, which is public comment. Thank you for engaging with the school board through the public comment process. The school board welcomes comments from Loudoun County residents and believes that strong community engagement and- Madam Chair ... and outreach are important components of a successful school system. Speakers must limit comments to the time allotted. Based on the number of speakers and the agenda this evening, all speakers have been
allotted one minute each for public comment. Please be advised that speakers who miss their time slot will not be called at a later time. All audience members shall maintain civility, decorum, and respect for the functioning and dignity of the school board at all times. Please remain seated unless arriving, departing, speaking at the podium, or during a break. Violations of civility, decorum, and respect include shouting, heckling, jeering, applause, or other noise which disrupts or delays the meeting; obstructing speakers from being able to see the school board and vice versa; interrupting speakers; attempting to speak when not called to do so by the chair;
and approaching a speaker or otherwise attempting to intimidate, disparage, or distract a speaker, staff member, or other meeting attendees. Speakers should refrain from vulgarity, obscenities, defamation, profanity, or other like breaches of respect, nor may speakers target, criticize, or attack individual students and/or individual division employees during public comment. As a reminder, School Board Policy 2520 states, "Speakers may not target, criticize, or attack individual students during public comment. Speakers should communicate those concerns to their school principal or an appropriate school official.
The school board requests that comments on an individual student or employee-related matter not be shared at public meetings where the disclosure could violate applicable confidentiality requirements." I want to take a moment to clarify a few things. As has been previously explained, it is possible for speakers to personally identify a student or employee without stating the student's or employee's names. That is personally identifiable information is any information that a reasonable person can link together to pinpoint an individual student or employee, and where that individual student or employee is known to others in their school and surrounding community based on
the context that is shared. The school board welcomes you to share your concerns, but asks that to the extent you have prepared remarks that target, criticize, or attack any individual students or employees, you generalize such remarks to ensure compliance with board policy. For example, comments that target, criticize, or attack a student or an employee, or a student or an employee from a specific named school, or a student or an employee with any characteristics where the information would personally identify that student or employee to others in the school or broader LCPS community, would violate school board policy.
However, comments that discuss general concerns with students or employees at schools that do not target, criticize, or attack an individual identifiable student or employee are permissible. Under school board policy, I, as the acting school board chair, am charged with the responsibility to maintain order during school board meetings. Accordingly, when reasonable, I will warn of breaches of decorum, civility, and respect, and ask speakers to redirect their comments prior to possibly discontinuing individual speaking privileges or taking other actions to preserve the civility, decorum, and orderly conduct of the meeting.
Such action includes calling a recess in order to maintain and/or restore order. If speakers fail to comply with board policy regarding public participation, you will receive a warning and request to redirect or generalize your comments. Should you fail to redirect or generalize your comments after that warning, you may be asked to yield the microphone, at which time you should yield the microphone as well as the floor and take your seat. I will then call the next speaker. To the extent necessary, I will also warn of breaches of decorum, civility, and respect from attendees prior to taking other actions to preserve the orderly conduct of the meeting. Speakers should face the dais and direct their comments to the school board. Per school board policy 2520, members of the school board will not answer questions
or respond directly to the public during the public comment period. Violations of decorum or civility by any meeting attendee may result in the acting chair directing staff to remove the attendee from the remainder of the meeting. Repeated or persistent violations of decorum or civility by the audience may result in, on the decision of the acting chair, public comment being tabled until a later point in the meeting's agenda, limiting the number of attendees in the meeting room during public comment for safety reasons, or the public comment period ending for the evening. Copies of materials for board members should be given to the public information officer in the back of the room before the start of the meeting.
Please provide 12 copies of the materials. Under no circumstances may a speaker approach the dais. The public is reminded that access to school board meetings is available through the LCPS live stream on the LCPS website. We look forward to hearing your comments. Our first speaker is Lori Warwick, followed by Raj Kattappalli. Thank you. Good evening. My name is Lori Warwick, and I've been a Loudoun County resident for more than 20 years, with students attending both Rock Ridge and Rosalie Carter. Thank you for your service, and thank you for coming out of summer session to hold this very time-sensitive meeting.
I'm here to respectfully ask the board to consider the Board of Supervisors and SEC's request. Both 3A and 4 are terrible. It is awful that we're here tonight pitting neighborhoods against each other, but I'd be remiss to not highlight that 3A condemns houses. Please have that resonate with you. 3A condemns houses. The SEC determined that Route Order Route 4 keeps large transmission towers farther from homes and neighborhoods, reduces exposure for students who walk and play in nearby communities, and
protects LCPS's ability to plan future school sites without new infrastructure constraints. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Raj Kattappalli, followed by Robert Brown. Good evening, board members. Thank you for holding this meeting and for taking time to hear from families like mine. As a father and resident of school community, I've always opposed overhead transmission lines near our schools. But today, the situation is different. Things have changed. The SEC has made its decision. A transmission line will be built. The question now is not whether it'll be built, but which route it'll
follow. The SEC approved Route 3 as the default route. If this board does not approve Route 4 easement, Route 3A will move forward. The SEC itself said Route 4 is the least harmful overhead option, and that Route 3A is worse in almost every way that was studied. Please act before July 20th, before it's too late, and help avoid the more harmful outcome. I respectfully ask you to approve the Route 4 easement so that Route 3A does not become the default choice. Thank you for your act.
Thank you. Our next speaker is Robert Brown, followed by Ram Ruboretty. Good evening, members of the school board. My name is Robert Brown, and I live in Loudoun Valley Estates 2. I believe Alternative 3A remains one of the most harmful options for our community. It would place major transmission infrastructure in a location with serious impacts on nearby homes, students, educators, school operations, neighborhoods, and the broad Run Stream Valley environment. At this point, I believe we must be clear not only about what we oppose, but also what alternatives would cause the least harm if this project
moves forward. Initially, I did not support any above-ground transmission line, but the time to make a decision and time to be heard is narrowing. The school board, county, and community should work together now to identify the least harmful remaining alternative. For that reason, I believe Alternatives 4 and 3B deserve focused discussion and your support. Alternative 4 was previously identified by the county as a preferable route. Alternative 3B is many times less harmful than 3A. Now is the time to work together to protect stu-
Thank you. Our next speaker is Ram Ruboretti, followed by Lakshminarayan Chandramouli. Good evening, chair and school board members. Thank you for your time and service. The SCC's April 9th order found that Route 4 is the least impactful overhead route, and that route the best serves the total public interest. The SCC also found that Route 3A has greater impacts on Broad and Stream Valley Park, would disturb the portion of the park bordering school property, would be closer to Rosalie Carter Elementary play areas, and would bisect Loudoun Reserve Drive at the entrance to the school campuses.
Today, your decision matters. If you cannot reject both the routes, I respectfully ask the board to make Route 4 available, consistent with SCC's own findings, and prevent Route 3A from becoming the permanent outcome. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Lakshminarayan Chandramouli, followed by Kiran K. Good evening, school board members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. As a parent of two daughters, I truly appreciate the responsibility you are carrying. I have previously spoken in favor of blocking routes on or near school property. My concern for school safety has
not changed, but what has changed is the approval status on Golden to Mass with Route 3A being approved in the final order. I urge the school board to not let inaction drive this unfortunate outcome. April 9th order from SCC made it clear that Route 3A is inferior choice compared to Route 4 from a community, school, and environmental perspective. Route 4 is not a perfect option, but it is the one where measured mitigation could apply the best. Given the urgency, I respectfully ask school board to authorize a measured path for Route 4
and file a motion to reconsider with SCC, so Route 3A doesn't become default. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Kiran K, followed by Lauren Lillestolen. Good evening, chair and school board members. My name is Kiran Kumar, and I'm resident of Loudoun Valley Estates 2. Thank you for listening to parents and for your commitment to our students. I'm here with one simple request. Please don't let Route 3 become the default outcome. As a parent, my biggest concern is student safety. Route 3A impacts our schools and Loudoun Reserve Drive,
which is used every day by students, families, and school staff. The SCC identified Route 4 as the least impactful overhead route. I respectfully ask the board to prioritize Route 4 and ensure that any decision includes strong safety protections for our children, school access, and daily operations. Please keep our students at the center of this decision. Thank you for your time and service. Thank you. Our next speaker is Lauren Lillestolen, followed by Hassini K. Loudoun County School board members, thank you for your continued efforts regarding
the Golden to Mars project. The school community is so appreciative that you have prioritized student and family safety and well-being throughout this process. We have all been put in an unfair position, and I do not wish to act as part of the pressure campaign. But I do hope that moving forward, you will choose to take control of the decision at hand. The school board should make the best choice for its schools, not the SCC. If the school board is unable to block all routes surrounding the schools and alternative options do not exist, please look at the information
objectively and choose the route that reduces impact to students at school and at home. Ask Dominion for mitigation if you're willing to work with them, and please consider a policy blocking all future transmission infrastructure on school campuses. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Hassini K, followed by Vicky Hu. Hassini K? Hassini K? Okay. Our next speaker is Vicky Hu, followed by William Taggart. Hello, board member. My name is Vicky Hu. Thank you for holding this meeting. I just want to say how much I really appreciate you guys accept the partial L. When we are drowning,
abandoned by the county, you have courage is standing up for the school and for the community. I just want to say thank you. I know it's a very difficult time for you guys to make a choice, but I'm sure you will make a right choice. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is William Taggart, followed by Anamika Desai. Again, thank you for having us. My name's William Taggart. This is my daughter, Madison. I have an immunity to speaking in public. I request that I have her speak on my behalf, if that's not- For the remainder of your time. Thank you.
All right. So as you heard, my name's Madison Taggart, and I'm just here to say thank you for taking this stand to try and block 3A, and hopefully to also block 4. Dominion, up to this point, wants us to be pointing fingers at one another. We can't let them continue to do that. So I ask you, do whatever you can to make the SEC reconsider, and to make the right choice. We trust you. Thank you for your time. And might I add, we thank you for your courage. We know you're our last stand. Please make the
right choice. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Anamika Desai, followed by Venkat Bommaneni. Hi, my name is Anamika Desai, and I'm a proud parent of Loudoun County public school students who are excelling in their career. So thank you for your service. I'm here today, and I have been here before, requesting the same that Dominion, I wish Dominion and their engineers work hard as our students are working hard to find the right solution for the community instead of
putting the routes that will not make the neighbors or the schools happy. So I'm here to request to put this high voltage power lines in the industrial areas, not near schools or not near homes. Appreciate your help. Thank you. Our next speaker is Venkat Bommaneni, followed by Yoko Jolly. Good evening, members. Thank you so much for your time. My name is Venkat Bommaneni. It's very sad that the whole public discussion really keeps counting the number of affected houses. Okay, those families matter, but why are students and
teachers and staff attending the Rosalie and Rockridge are not being given the same weight? Those children, if you count those children who attend these schools every year, that will come down to thousands of families affected across generations. It's not just the number of properties that matters, but all these thousands of students across the generations matter. Unfortunately, these students cannot vote in the elections, but any decisions coming from the elected officials, they had to deal with it every day at school. I think these
students deserve same equal considerations. You've been the clearest voice for students in this whole process, and I want you to continue that stance. Thank you so much. Thank you. Our next speaker is Yoko Jolly, followed by Elcinora Martinez. Contrary to popular belief, this does not need to be a binary decision between Route 4 and 3A. But to be clear, to just clarify what others have said, Route 4 is not the least impactful option. In fact, it is the most impactful from a Rockridge High School and Rosalie Carter perspective. Route 4 runs right through the heart
of this school's campus and is the most impactful to students and of the school. Past the track, football, softball, baseball, and soccer fields, along the only school access route that 2,400 people take every day, and the emergency access route that will be blocked surely by construction. No other route comes this close to the students. I want to remind the school board that your duty is to the safety and well-being of students and staff first, not to solving the county's infrastructure issues or protecting individual residents' homes. The county and state should not shift the consequences of their poor planning onto
schools and students in this community. They had no role in creating this mess. Reject Route 4, protect our students. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Elcinora Martinez, followed by Sachin Garg. I want to begin by acknowledging that I don't envy the position that you're in. Every route affects somebody's home, and I have deep empathy for every family impacted. No community should be forced to argue that another should bear the burden instead. But today's decision is bigger than choosing neighborhoods. The precedent you set today will extend far beyond Loudoun
County. Every generation is remembered for a handful of decisions that seemed reasonable at the time. History celebrates leaders who acted before there were universal agreement, such as seat belts or smoking warning labels. History also remembers the decisions that came too late. Asbestos, lead in paint and in gasoline. And in every one of those cases, responsible parties made decisions based on the best information available at the time. Today, you face that responsibility. You may believe that the science surrounding high voltage transmission lines is not yet definitive, but when uncertainty exists,
the school is not where we should choose to accept it. Twenty years from now, nobody will remember the route numbers. They will- Thank you. Our next speaker is Sachin Garg, followed by Srinath Milamegah. Good evening, everyone. I'm Sachin. I live in Weybridge Square, and thanks for taking out time to help all the community. I'm father of two kids. One is one year old, just turned one, and one, my daughter, she's coming to Rosalie this year. And now major concern is like I think we are discussing here As someone who frequently uses Loudoun Reserve Drive, I'm worried about this
campus entrance is heavily used by students, parents, buses, staff, and emergency vehicles. This is why Route 3A is so concerning. The SSC recognized that it would bisect Loudoun Reserve Drive at the campus entrance. Route 3A would also traverse Broad Run and steep slopes, adding environment construction concerns and near an already busy road. I respectfully ask school board not to allow Route 3A to be default. Please prioritize Route 4 as the
least- Thank you. Our next speaker is Sreenath Neelamegam, followed by Madhusudhan Gorantla. Respectable members of the board, thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I recognize it is a difficult decision, and I appreciate the responsibility you carry, knowing it will affect so many lives here. As a parent of children at both schools here, my greatest concern is the safety of our students, teachers, staff, and the community. Broad Run Park is one of our community's treasures. As a designated passive parkland and a stream valley
corridor, it is home to thriving wildlife and provides a place where families and children connect with nature. Route 3A would bring large power lines right through the park, and it will sit much closer to the elementary school playground area compared to Route 4. We teach our children about sustainability, about protecting and preserving our environment for future generations. Today, you can lead by example by protecting our park and the nature preserve. I respectfully ask- Thank you. Our next speaker is Madhusudhan Gorantla,
followed by Suresh Munipally. Good evening, everyone. My name is Madhusudhan Gorantla. I live in Loudoun Valley Estates-3. You see the routes on the map. Route 3 and Route 4 goes behind my property, no matter which route you choose today. But what I request the school board is to deny anything that goes on the school property and protect the kids and the safety of the teachers and the kids who use this area. The kids, my son, their friends, use the Rockridge and Rosalie area every day to play sports, and they come for everything. So please make this as a school, not something which
has power lines or some other property or project everywhere. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Suresh Munipally, followed by Kalpesh Patel. Hi, my name is Suresh Munipally. Firstly, I would like to thank you all for all the decisions that you have made so far. I want to state that I'm a resident of Loudoun County for the last 20 years. And just to be on the records, my kids no longer attend the schools here. But for me, what is important is the safety and soundness of each of the residents here. That doesn't mean they need to have a voting right.
It's for every resident. And from that perspective, I would like to make sure the school board prioritize the safety of the kids and make sure the school board property is not the one where power lines are allowed to be set up. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Kalpesh Patel, followed by Pratik Shah. Good afternoon. I'm a resident of the Loudoun County for last 21 years. Our board of supervisors has failed us. They have chased the data center tax revenue to create this division in community and havoc.
Not only they have failed the residents and citizens, but they have failed you. They have pushed this unfair decision on you. Now it is up to you to show my two daughters who went to both of these schools that you will continue to do the right thing, that you have first rejected all the options here. Please do not be influenced by the false urgency shown by Dominion and board of supervisors or any false promises they make that only if you approve one of the routes here, they will spare other properties. Please do the right thing. My family and my daughters urge you to continue to stand behind the decision you made before.
No routes going through any of the property that school owns. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Pratik Shah, followed by Chetan Thippaswamy. Pratik Shah? No Pratik Shah. Our next speaker is Chetan Thippaswamy, followed by Kelly Hansen. Good evening, school board members. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to speak and voice my concern. I live in LV-3 right behind the soccer fields and the baseball field. I would like to set one thing right. Route 4 is not as harmless as it seems. It's a straight line. That straight line is
a power line that needs 150 to 250 square feet of easement. Rockridge does not have that much of area to give to Dominion, which means they are going to come right into my backyard for that easement. Once they get one foot in with your approval, they will diverge from the established Route 4 and do whatever they please. Route 4 does affect property values and other properties as much as it does 3A. Dominion is playing a game here. They make 3A look so bad, so you're forced to approve-
Thank you. Our next speaker is Kelly Hanson, followed by Marcy Knapke. Loudoun County School Board, thank you for taking the time to hear comments from community members today, especially those from the minority community of Loudoun Valley Estates 3. I want to begin by saying that I am sorry. I am sorry that once again, you have been placed in a difficult position of making a critical decision that affects the safety and wellbeing of our children, your faculty, and their surrounding communities. The issue of transmission line placement is not one that the school board should be responsible for solving. Unfortunately, the Loudoun County Board of
Supervisors has placed that burden on you, making the school board the decision-maker on an issue that will have lasting consequences for our students, educators, and neighbors. For that, we are truly sorry. Our request is simple. Please do not allow transmission lines to be built on or adjacent to school property. Do not become the school board that sets a precedent for future utility projects to occupy school grounds because of inadequate long-term planning by the Board of Supervisors. Stand with the children you serve, your faculty, and-
Thank you. Our next speaker is Marcy Knapke, followed by Philip Emmanuel. Good evening. Has anyone in this room ever heard of Loudoun County Public Schools being featured on national media? Now, everyone in this room imagine this. The newest headline reads, "Loudoun County Public Schools stands up for their students, their faculty, and their communities and will not allow high-voltage power lines to come through anywhere near its property at Rock Ridge High School or at any other schools within Loudoun County." The school
board will not be bullied by the Board of Supervisors, they will not be bullied by the SCC, and certainly not by any power company. This school district that sits in the internet capital of the world is stepping up to safeguard all of its students and campuses going forward and setting the example at Rock Ridge High School here today. Imagine making that headline in the news a reality. Thank you. No applause. No applause or we'll have to suspend public comment. Our next speaker is Philip Emmanuel, followed by Peter Snyder.
Good evening. My name is Philip Emmanuel, and I've been a resident of Loudoun County for over 30 years with three children who have attended Loudoun County Public Schools. Thank you for calling this meeting and for your ongoing support to our community. To say the school board has been put in a difficult position is an understatement. You have literally been given Sophie's choice. What is undisputable is that high voltage power lines do not belong on school property or to be built in established residential communities. You should not be put in a position of choosing between two bad
options where others should have had the courage to resolve things earlier. By the way, think of how this will impact school populations as parents request waivers for children not to attend these schools because of the presence of power lines. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Our next speaker is Peter Snyder, followed by Bruce Goldy. Good evening. My name is Peter Snyder. I've been a resident of Loudoun Valley Estates for over 16 years, and my children currently attend the public schools that will be directly impacted by the Golden to Mars project.
I'm here tonight to respectfully ask the school board to pass a motion authorizing consideration of Route 4 easements and negotiate with Dominion on mitigation terms, thereby preventing Route 3A, the worst possible option, from becoming the default. I ask the board use its leverage now to secure the following concessions, a binding commitment that Dominion will not pursue further transmission routes on any other LCPS property, to negotiate with Dominion to install buffers and screening along Route 4,
to demand that Dominion bear the cost of mitigating the line's effects on school facilities and the surrounding community. In conclusion, I ask that you please move for reconsideration as soon as possible so the choice and the terms of whatever is built remains with the school board and the community. Thank you. Our next speaker is Bruce Goldy, followed by Anika Rukilapelli. My name is Bruce Goldy. I live in Loudoun Valley Estates I am requesting that Loudoun County School Board accept Route 4, which runs on the edge of the properties of Rosalie
Carter and Rock Ridge High School for the following reasons. The SCC has stated that Route 4 is superior to Route 3 Route 3 crosses Loudoun County school property. Route 3 runs closer to Rosalie Carter Elementary than does Route 4. Children attending Rosalie Carter and Rock Ridge will have to pass under the Route 3 transmission lines at least twice daily. Route 3 will result in major damage to the environment of Broad Run Stream Valley Park, which is utilized both by Rock Ridge and Rosalie
Carter schools. Route 3 will be as close as 50 feet, to put that into perspective, that's less than three car lengths to the homes on Wade. Thank you. Our next speaker is Anika Rukkalappalli, followed by Josh Weber. Good evening, school board members. My name is Anika Rukkalappalli, and I'm a resident of Loudoun Valley Estates 3, where my family and I have lived for the past 18 years. I'm currently entering my fourth year of college at UVA, and while I'm no longer in the LCPS school system, I attended Rosalie Carter. I distinctly remember when Olocks Road was a one-lane road and
disconnected from Loudoun County Parkway. My parents chose to live in the Estates hoping for peace and quiet, as well as good schools for their kids to attend. But now, every time I visit home, I notice another data center, another pole, and honestly, another disturbance to our livelihood. I find myself in constant distress thinking about the environmental and health impacts of these developments. Running 500 kilovolt transmission lines practically in our backyards is no option. It's LCPS students both now and the future that I worry about. So school board members, I ask that we push for Dominion to sa-
Thank you. Our next speaker is Josh Weber, followed by Mihir Nimkar. Good evening. My name is Josh Weber, and I'm a student here at Rock Ridge High School. I will have to live with the decision you make tonight for years to come. Every morning, I walk to school, and there's no out. I have no choice but to be here every single school day, and soon it will be in the presence of high voltage power lines. Students are being forced to take on a burden that should never have been placed on us, and our community has spent over a year trying to respond to a transmission project that we never asked for.
Now we face two terrible options. Route 3A would be especially devastating. We would prefer no new power lines near our schools and neighborhoods, and if there's any way to make that a reality, please pursue those avenues. But we are now seemingly at the end of the road, and taking no action now would result in Route 3A becoming the default. If there's no other way to stop this, please consider the least destructive options, protect our school campus, and keep these critical decisions in the hands of the school board. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Mihir Nimkar, followed by Wendy Collins.
Good evening, school board. Thank you for pausing your summer break today. My name is Mihir Nimkar, and I'm currently a rising senior at Rock Ridge High School. I recognize that today the school board is faced with the choice between horrible options, namely Routes 3A and 4. I know the situation was not your fault, and I'm sorry that you have to make this difficult decision. I hope that the school board recognizes Route 3A as the worst route for students, though. It would cut through both Rock Ridge and Rosalie Carter. It would remove forests, dumping debris into the Broad Run River and eventually the Chesapeake Bay, harming all of Virginia. It would rid the schools of peaceful sidewalks that many, including me, need to
walk across without buses. It would eliminate the education provided from the Broad Run River, which I still remember gave me a new perspective on wildlife in elementary school. While I'm against all overground routes and would love that if possible, if Route 4 is not eased by July 20th, Route 3A will be the default. To avoid the more invasive and problematic route, I urge the school board to provide an easement for Route 4. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Wendy Collins, followed by Mukesh Bhakta. Oh, I can see. Good evening. My name is Wendy Collins, and I am here today with a sincere
plea. While I appreciate the school board's effort to support the community, Routes 3 and 3A, they're not the right solution. My father and I have worked to educate our community on the real impacts of this route. Due to limited time, I invite you to my Facebook page, Protect Broad Run Stream Valley Park, where the facts are clearly laid out. It's not a matter of opinion. These are the facts. Route 3A causes greater harm to the community. The data is clear. Maps and topography do not lie. And both the SEC and the Board of Supervisors
have acknowledged this. I ask you to reconsider what this decision means for the people you represent. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Our next speaker is Mukesh Bhakta, followed by Melanie McDonald. Good evening. Thank you for serving our school and our community here. I've been a resident of Loudoun Valley Estates 3 for 21 years, and both my children went to Rock Ridge and Rosalie Carter. This is not about one community against another. This is about safety. Our children should be walking under tree canopies, not around
or adjacent to or under 500 kilovolt high voltage wires. These routes actively industrialize the exact path kids walk to get to school. While debate continues in the scientific community and the world, WHO classifies low frequency magnetic fields as possible carcinogen due to statistical links with childhood leukemia. Science may seem unresolved, but we should not take risks with our children's lives. We paid to live in a safe residential community with safe schools. Don't force our kids to pay the price for corporate data center
demand. The school board's job is to protect children at all- Thank you. Our next speaker is Melanie McDonald, followed by Advait Kokkarini. Good evening. Thank you for calling this meeting and for your ongoing support of our community. It is unfortunate that you have been burdened with this decision, but we appreciate your leadership. As you assess the legal options available to you to stop Dominion from seizing school property, I encourage you to enter a motion with the SCC to reconsider the case. I am outraged that Dominion and our data center neighbors have taken every
opportunity to use their influence and money to push devastating overhead Golden to Mars routes to approval rather than pursue a route that does not ruin our community. I am still hopeful there is an opportunity for the SCC to rehear the case based on its merits, and that if that is not successful, that we can appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court. Thank you again for standing with us. Thank you. Our next speaker is Advait Kokkarini, and followed by Phil Friesen. Hello. My name is Advait Kokkarini, and I'm a graduate from Rock Ridge High School,
and I live at Hemingford Circle from Loudoun Valley Three, just right behind Rock Ridge. We're all here today for one reason and one reason only, the power lines. Please realize that Route 4 is the worst route for the safety of the children. It is the closest to the school and closest to the athletic side of Rock Ridge, where many children play. Many of you here have kids who play outside every day. Now I want you to do something for me. I want you to picture your child playing in the yard. Picture them with a scraped knee and you rushing over, heart pounding. That panic you feel for a scraped knee, multiply that by a thousand for the thought that the place where they call school might one day put them at risk. We are not against energy. We depend on it, but we don't need it like this.
If you have children, think of them. If you represent a company, think of the families you serve. If you make law, think of the legacy you leave. We owe the next generation more than cost-saving shortcuts. We owe them safety. Please say no to Route 4 and protect the students. Thank you all for being here and listening to us as a community as we say no to overhead power lines. Thank you. Our next speaker is Phil Friesen, followed by Rama Atluri. Good evening. Let's face some facts that affect the choice between placing high voltage wires emitting electromagnetic radiation close to elementary children playing daily at
recess for six years versus high schoolers with seasonal activities for four years. Elementary school children are generally more likely to experience stronger long-term effects from environmental impacts and toxins compared to high school-age adolescents. This is supported by extensive evidence from organizations like the World Health Organization, the EPA, and numerous studies on developmental toxicology. The reasons are, one, higher exposure per body weight. Two, organs such as brain, lungs, immune, and reproductive systems are still forming. Three, immature protective systems.
Four, early exposures can lead to cancer risk, cognitive behavioral issues, and respiratory problems. Compare this to high school adolescents. Adolescents are still developing. However, their systems are more mature- Thank you. Our next speaker is Rama Atluri, followed by Kartikraj Pichamuthu. Good evening, members of the school board. Thank you for standing up for the pressure from Dominion Energy and Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. By refusing to hand over school property, you showed that safety of our school at Rock Ridge and Rosalie Elementary matters more
than corporate timelines. However, now that the SCC has advanced Route 3A, putting our neighborhoods at risk and bringing 180-foot transmission towers near Rosalie, we need to act before the July 20th deadline. You have already shown your willingness to stand up for our schools and community. Now, please use your authority to approve a route that protects the environment, both for our schools and our community from the worst case scenario. And, as the previous speakers highlighted the effects of electromagnetic field on younger children, I would
like you to consider that as part of your decision-making process. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Kartikraj Pichamuthu, followed by Rekha Ponaganti. Kartikraj Pichamuthu? No Kartikraj Pichamuthu. Our next speaker is Rekha Ponaganti, followed by Premchand Chandran. Rekha Ponaganti? Hi, this is Reka. Thank you everyone. This is my first time speaking in the public forum, so I might little bit tremble a lot. But thanks for all of the support that you have been providing us, and I do understand the pressure that you guys have
been put in. Telling no to the power lines both on the Rosalie Route 3 and 4. Right now, we are at a state where we choose one evil or the other. Now, I see the noises of the kids playing in the Rosalie Carter right from my house. Now it is very devastating that Route 3 has been selected, and I feel bad for my two kids went to the elementary school. I feel very bad to them. Yeah, if SCC and Board of Supervisors, they already mentioned that Route 4 is the least impacted. Again, both are evil, but
once, if the school approves 3A, that will be the final route. So please do your best judgment on whatever is the right choice. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Premchand Chandran, followed by Prasanna Sankarapani. Good evening, and thank you for the board to take this issue seriously and for your service to our community. I understand there may not be a perfect solution tonight, but if the board authorizes the use of school property, I respectfully ask that it do with clear limits and protection.
Please avoid Route 3A and prioritize Route 4. Any approval should include strong conditions to protect students, especially during students' arrival and dismissal, with safe traffic management and strict construction safety requirements. Route 3A option affects school entrances, and it should not be considered. Please prioritize Route 4 and keep student safety first. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Prasanna Sankarapani, followed by
Priya Katipally. Good evening, board members. Thank you for listening to the community today. My message today is simple. Please do not let Route 3A become the final outcome. If the board does not act, Route 3A is the route that will be built. As a mother of two young children, this matters deeply to me. Route 3A run very close to Rosalie Carter's play area, where our youngest children play every single day. It would also impact the walking trails to school, trails that my family and many others rely on daily,
and it would cross Louden Reserve Drive right at the school entrance, affecting nearby families in a very real way. These are not small concerns. I kindly ask the board to reject Route 3A. I respectfully ask you to act now before it is too late. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Priya Katipally, followed by Lynn Davis. Good evening, board members. Thank you for listening to the community today. I'm a mother of a young child. I'm here to talk about the route the SCC approved, Route 3A. In the past, I did
not want any overhead power lines near our schools, but things have changed. The SCC has made its final decision to approve Route 3A. It will move forward unless this board takes action. The SCC's own report favored Route 4. The SCC said Route 3A is worse than Route 4 in almost every way. Route 3A affects younger children more, and it impacts many more homes. You did not create this problem, but
the choice is now in your hands. Approving Route 4 is the best way to protect students and our community from the worst outcome. I respectfully ask you to act. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Lynn Davis, followed by Revati Venama. Why are we even having this discussion? The school board's job is to educate students, not solve infrastructure planning failures. Yet the Board of Supervisors have effectively handed the school board a list of demands instead of real options, asking the school board to make
the unpopular decision to place high voltage transmission lines across school property. The responsibility of the school board is clear: protect students and provide safe, healthy learning environments. Running major transmission lines through school campuses does neither. If data centers are truly critical infrastructure, when the question should be whether or not the safest solution is more cost-effective. While many seem to be leaning towards Route 4, it's only because it seems to be the lesser of all evils, but it's still evil.
We're hearing words like emergency, but the real emergency is sacrificing student space. Ask the Board of Supervisors to do their job Thank you. Our next speaker is Revati Venama, followed by Bhupendra Gojia. Good evening, board members. Thank you for giving our community the opportunity to speak. I'm a resident and the parent of a second grader. Like many families, I have always been concerned about transmission lines near our schools. Student safety and wellbeing for our community must remain the priority.
Today, Route 38 is the approved route under the SEC's final order. If the board does not act, Route 38 becomes the default outcome. I respectfully ask you to prevent that from happening. The SEC found that the Route 4 is the least impactful overhead route, while Route 38 was considered clearly inferior by nearly every objective measure. So please prioritize Route 4 and protect our students, schools, and neighborhoods. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Bhupendra Gojia, followed by
Arun Subramani. Bhupendra Gojia? No Bhupendra Gojia. Our next speaker is Arun Subramani, followed by Michelle Emanuel. Arun Subramani? No Arun Subramani. Our next speaker is Michelle Emanuel, followed by Abby Platt. Good evening. Thank you so much for having this meeting tonight. My name is Michelle Emanuel. I've been a resident of Loudoun County for 33 years, and I've been a proud Loudoun County educator for the last 20 years. And I want to thank you for what you've done so far in this fight.
You have shown bravery in a time when our county leaders aren't. They punted this to you, and it is unfair and an unenviable thing that has been placed in your lap. But right now, you have to make a decision. As you look at your legal options to stop Dominion from seizing school board property, I urge you to enter a motion with the SEC to reconsider this case so we can negotiate. If we don't, Dominion will just keep proposing routes through school board property, continuously pitting neighbor against neighbor. We need negotiations that put an end to this cycle once and for all.
I have hope that the SEC will rehear this case. If they don't, I ask you to take this all the way to the Virginia State Supreme Court. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Abby Platt, followed by Sunita Alugubeli. Last September, this board voted eight, zero to adopt Policy 6350. Not one of you voted against it. This board firmly said no to new cell towers on school grounds. You drew a firm line, making it clear that our campuses are not the default site for utility infrastructure. That principle doesn't shrink when the tower gets taller.
185-foot transmission line past Rosalie Carter Elementary and Rockridge High School raises that same concern at 40 times the height. And understand what a yes would mean tonight. The only reason school land is even on the table at all is that Virginia law shields it from condemnation. A utility company cannot take it. It can only ask for permission. The moment this board says yes, every campus in Loudoun becomes the path of least resistance for the next line and the line after that. You would be effectively telling every
utility in Virginia that when routing gets hard, the answer runs through a schoolyard. Thank- Our next speaker is Sunita Alugubeli, followed by Madhu Alugubeli. Good evening, school board. I'm Sunita Alugubeli, and I want to start out stating that at the heart of every decision should be only one simple principle: people matter most. Reliable infrastructure is important, but it should not come at the expense of families in established
neighborhoods. A route located away from residential and school communities offer the most balanced approach. On a personal level, this issue is deeply meaningful for me, for my family. This home is more than a house. It is where we built our lives and memories. We chose this community for its safety and peace, not to have stressful, sleepless nights. No family should feel like an unwilling victim of decisions that alter their homes.
I'm deeply grateful to the school board for their courageous- Thank you. Our next speaker is Madhu Alugubeli, followed by Vikas Nair Good evening, school board members. My name is Madhu Algubilli, and I am a Loudoun Valley Estates homeowner. I want to thank you for calling in this emergency meeting to address the Golden to Mars project. As you know, the proposal to run massive high-voltage transmission lines through our community is a devastating blow to our neighborhoods. They will decimate our property values, fundamentally alter our neighborhoods, and
cross the very paths our children use to walk to school. You have the power to stand as a wall between our families and corporate infrastructure. As a homeowner, neighbor, and taxpayer, I'm asking you to stand firmly with us. Please use your authority to protect our homes, protect our schools, and say no to these high power lines in our community. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Vikas Nair, followed by Gina Park. Good evening, school board members. First, I want to sincerely thank you for your continued commitment
to putting student safety first. I respectfully ask you to continue standing firm and reject Route 4 or any other route that places massive transmission infrastructure near our schools. I live in Loudoun Valley Estates 3, and my house is directly opposite to Rockridge, the first house. I see the buses, the parent drop-off traffic, teachers coming in every day, the kids walking to school every single day. Route 4 is the only access for all these students, teachers, parents, both for Rockridge as well as Rosalie
schools. The power lines are 53 feet away from my backyard, but more importantly, our football stadium, track field, soccer fields, baseball fields all fall within Route 4, some as close to 36 feet from the power lines. I humbly ask the school board to reject Route 4 or any other route. Thank you. Our next speaker is Gina Park, followed by Karthik Uppalapati. Hi, my name is Gina Park, and I've been a resident of Loudoun Valley Estates for over 20 years. First, I want to give my heartfelt gratitude on behalf of the Park family and the Loudoun Valley Estates community for your support.
You didn't ask for it, but you hold our hope and our future dreams in your hands. While both routes hurt our communities, Route 3A is the most harmful. For those of us who have made Loudoun Valley Estates home, this fight against the power lines in our backyard has been a nightmare. What will happen to our homes, our health? Do we need to move? Will any place in Loudoun be a safe place to move to? These are the questions that burden us, and we have felt helpless in the fight against Dominion that seems to have been given more rights over our homes and land than we as homeowners do. One day,
the boom of data centers and the poor planning that resulted in the sacrifice of our communities and their green spaces will be looked on with regret, and through your support, this school board will have been proved to be on the right side of history. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Karthik Uppalapati, followed by Susan Muller. Good evening. I'm Karthik Uppalapati, here tonight representing the Loudoun Nature Conservation Project, and I've lived in Ashburn for over a decade. I grew up outdoors in this county, the parks, the trails, the creeks, and the open land. That's where my childhood happened, and that's the reason why I'm here
tonight. Routes 3 and 4 both take that away. It cuts a permanent scar throughout this land, and it does within 500 feet of roughly 180 families. I'm not asking you to stop the line. I'm asking you not to treat the plan in front of you as the only one possible. The board holds something in this process that no one else does. Whatever you decide tonight will sit on this land for the rest of my life and for every kid who grows up here after me. I got to grow up here with the creeks, woods, and summer easings outside, and all of those made me who I am. It was something given to me, and every kid in
Loudoun County deserves the same opportunities. And tonight, you are the ones who are deciding whether they get them. So remember, a tree falls the way it leans. Be careful in which the way you lean. Thank you. Thank you. Our final speaker is Susan Muller. To the members of the school board, I want to thank you for your courage and your stance on the Golden to Mars project. To the members of the Board of Supervisors, if any of you are here, the school board cannot fix your mistakes. You have harmed our community irreparably. You now put the school board in the untenable
position of having to choose between our community and the school system as a whole with your unprecedented request to give up land for the Golden to Mars project. The school system's responsibility is to ensure the safety of the students and the staff and not to fix the mistakes of the Board of the Supervisors. Please consider the potential ramifications for the rest of the county schools. If you permit Dominion to use school lands, they will be back for more. I am one of the homes on Route 3A, and I know it is very likely that we will have quite a view when these go through.
Thank you for your time and consideration. That concludes our list of public speakers. Thank you all for coming out today and providing your public comment. Board members, at this time, we will take a short recess and reconvene at 6:50. The board is in recess. I've
just seen a few notes. Come on. Thank you. The board is back in session. We will now move on to item 3.01, our discussion and action item, the Golden to Mars Transition Line Project. As everyone here knows, back in 2025, Dominion Energy proposed a variety of overhead high voltage power lines needed to power the grid in future upcoming years. The school board first took a vote on March 25th, 2025, at which time we had been asked to approve Route 4. In that vote, we indicated that we would support an underground
option. We took a second vote on January 28th, 2026, in which we stated that we are reaffirming the vote that we took in March of 2025 and continue to support the possibility of undergrounding. We did then provide a ranking of, if we had to approve overhead routes, what overhead routes we might be willing to agree to. But we have not firmly committed to approving anything. On April 9th, 2026, the State Corporation Commission issued a preliminary order indicating that the commission believes
that Dominion's proposed Route 4 would be the best possible option, but stating that as it understood that the school board would require an easement from the school board in order to build Route 4, further stated that in the absence of such easement, they were likely to approve Route 3A. At a meeting on June 23rd, 2026, the school board voted to accept a gift of land from one of the local homeowners associations. Shortly after that, on June 29th, 2026, the SCC put out their final
order on this issue in which they did not approve Route 4 because the school board would not grant an easement, and therefore it was not feasible, but did approve Route 3A, even though it was publicly known at that point that the school board had voted to accept the gift of land, which was also registered with land records. That is the current decision. On June 30th, then the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted on a resolution in which they encouraged LCPS
to reconsider its prior position regarding these decisions. It is in light of that resolution that we decided to hold this meeting and hear public comment on the issues tonight. I want to clarify before we begin our discussion that my understanding, and I trust that staff will correct me if I'm wrong, but LCPS staff is not recommending that the school board approve any particular proposed route. The recommended action listed on BoardDocs stating that
the recommendation that the school board consider authorizing use of property is taken word for word from the resolution passed by the Board of Supervisors. So we are acceding to the Board of Supervisors' request that we have additional discussion regarding these issues and what position, if any, to take with the proposed lines put forward by Dominion Energy. We have one of the maps up here that is also posted on BoardDocs, and I will ask Mr. Trainer if he can please orient us to what's on the map. Thank you, Vice Chair Donahue.
The map that is presented was prepared by Dominion Energy, and it highlights four routes that are still per se in discussion at this time. The original route that was approved by the SCC is Route 3A. It is the red line that you see going across the top of the map, and then coming down the western side of the map. The map is oriented so that up is north in this direction. Route 3, the original Route 3, is a green line that comes down onto the school board property
and then proceeds due west straight across the top of the property- Through the park property and just to the edge of the parks, and then comes down the west side where it then lines up again with Route 3A and proceeds to go down off the west side of the campus. And now stepping back a minute, Route 3A is the route that was originally proposed by Dominion that did not cross school board property in this process. Route 3B is the pale green
route that comes down on school board property, crosses the top of the property, and then turns just south, just past our practice fields, and comes down beside the practice fields in the wood line, eventually crosses off the property as it gets closer to Rosalie Carter, and then cuts back across, just across the edge of the property once it passes Loudoun Reserve Drive. And then Route 4 is the blue line on the map. It comes onto school board property at the same location as Route
3 and 3B, but then proceeds down the eastern edge of the property, where it goes by the stadium baseball field, turns, comes very close to the softball field, and then cuts across the southern edge of the property, where it's going to go basically parallel to Loudoun Reserve Drive across the front of both schools, till it leaves school board property, and then it will turn south. So, happy to answer any other questions. Thank you, Mr. Treanor. Did you address what the yellow hatched marks area is? I'm sorry, I did not. So the yellow hatched mark area is the parcel
that was donated by Loudoun Valley Estates to the school board, and the school board accepted that deed a couple of weeks ago. And so that parcel now is also school board property. Thank you very much, Mr. Treanor. Appreciate you being here to answer questions if there are any. Fellow board members, do we have any comments or thoughts that we would like to share? Mr. Svendsen. Thank you, Vice Chair Donahue. Just as part of the preliminaries, I wanted to ask Mr. Treanor if he could speak to the operational impacts of Route 4 and other routes provided, but specifically
was curious about four because of its location in relation to the schools. So Route 4, during the construction phase, would be the most significant of these routes because it parallels the school driveway. Very close proximity to the driveway. I'm confident, though, that working with Dominion staff, that we can ensure access to the schools during the construction timeline. But, from an operational perspective, that's the big concern that the school staff has, is how do we get the kids in and out while construction is going on?
The routes 3, 3A, and 3B, depending on which route it is, there is a much lower impact during construction to the school population, and to activities on the school. And, obviously 3B in that process, since it is on the campus, would have the most impact to the school campus, but the areas that it crosses on the school campus are relatively remote as far as school operations. So we wouldn't envision a lot of impact with 3B. 3A is not on school property at all,
and so the operational impact comes into play if there's any access needed during construction, we could consider that for Dominion, and then where it crosses Loudoun Reserve Drive is not on school property. But, obviously through the construction period, the construction company would have to work to ensure access during school hours. Helpful. And just to clarify, on Route 3A, it's my understanding that 3A does go through school property at the moment because of that transfer from LVE. Is that correct?
Yes, sir. And I apologize. Thank you for the correction. Because of the transfer from LVE, Route 3A would go through school property on the north side. Weber. Chair Donahue. This is also a question for Mr. Treanor about Route 4. And really, this is a question about the map. One, do we know how many towers will be placed on that blue strip at the bottom that abuts our property, as well as where exactly the footings of those towers would be in relation to both school property and the backyards of the homes that sit
along the street right there? So the fifth map that's in this attachment does show the Route 4 proposed locations. These are not exact engineered locations. It's approximate from the Dominion design. If this route was selected, the staff would be prepared to work with Dominion to, as they refer to micro-siting, identify the exact locations of each of the towers on this route. But it is across the bottom of the map, there are five towers that are proposed on the blue line across the southern end of the campus.
Where the footings of those towers plan to sit, are they actually on our property? Are they on the road? Where are the footings? The way that the map reflects is that the footings would be on the school board property. So it's a little hard to tell with the scale of the drawing and the scale of the map- But the expectation is that at this point, they would be on school property, though the easement for this could go over school board property onto private property. But if the footings are on the school property, then the majority of the
easement would likely be on school property too. Thank you, Mr. Trainer. Ms. Ricardi? I have so many questions. So I understand that we have these maps. I understand these maps were in concept, that the poles and the footings that are mapped out on here may or may not be exact. They're not exact at this point. We've still got to map out where those are going to be. Do we know right now for Route 4, are there any underground issues with putting in those footings on the east side of the campus, or the south side for that matter? So Dominion Energy, in their preparation for identifying
this route, looked at all of the existing underground utilities that are in this area, the easements that are across the school campus. And this general location, they have determined they can work around those easements. You'll notice that on the drawing, there is a kind of a gold, orange colored line that as you're looking at this map of Route 4, it comes up where Route 4 comes up from the bottom and then cuts across just north of Route 4 down the driveway. That is an easement for a gas line that then runs over to the east just off our property.
And so they had identified that in advance and had designed the route and placed the approximate location of the route to make sure they were clear of any existing easements. Yeah. And was LCPS consulted by Dominion before these plans or when these plans were crafted, or were they just crafted kind of unilaterally without any feedback from LCPS? I don't think any of us saw these plans before they came out, so I'm not speaking on anybody's behalf, but I didn't certainly see
anything. Right. So as Dominion was looking at options around the schools, they were talking to school staff, they were working with county staff. These are their ideas, where the routes go, but we were aware of the locations and had the opportunity to provide some feedback. And I will share that Route 3B was developed by Dominion because of concerns that staff had expressed about the proximity of Route 3 to Rosa Lee Carter Elementary School. Okay. Thank you. Dr. Rashid. Thank you, Chair Donahue. I just wanted to ask a question, and I
wasn't sure who to ask, if it was our legal counsel or if it's Mr. Trainer. I was just wondering how the SCC can actually approve 3A if they don't have an easement. Thank you, Dr. Rashid. I think at this juncture it'd be speculative to respond to that inquiry, but we'll certainly take it under advisement. Thank you, Mr. Allen. Other thoughts, questions? Oh, Ms. Lavelle, turn on your mic. Thank you. I noticed that there is a purple line running just to the right of Route
It is marked as existing lines. Tell me again why they can't put the wires they want to on the path that is already dedicated to carrying lines. So, Ms. Donahue, so it's my understanding, and this would actually be Dominion's question to answer, but it's my understanding that there's not enough room within the existing corridor where the lines are at now to add the 500 kV and 230 kV lines that they want to add in now.
And so as that existing line comes down, they were following that route fairly close until it was identified, the conflict with the gas line. And then when the gas line was identified, that was where right at the bottom end as it comes near the softball field is where it breaks away from that and then comes across heading west across the bottom of the campus. But the intent with Route 4 was to follow those lines approximately as close as they could get this easement. Mr. Trainer, could you address some of the concerns or
reservations that staff might have about the proposed Route 4 and its impact on the schools? So some of the concerns that have been raised by our school employees here on the two campuses with Route 4 has to deal with where the proposed line's coming down on the east side of the campus. These towers are going to feel like they're overshadowing the athletic fields, the stadium, the baseball field, and then it's very close to the softball field. We don't know exact placements yet, but these towers are approximately twice the height of the existing athletic field
lighting. And when you look at the drawing, it appears that we've got one of the light towers, one of the light poles might have to be relocated because of the proximity. We don't know yet. That level of detail design has not been finished. And once again, Dominion has offered to work with us on micro-siting each tower to be able to try to work around any conflicts like that. But as it then comes across from the softball field, it's going to be relatively close to the practice field, the main practice field, and then across the front of the school as it runs down
Loudoun Reserve Drive. From a school staff perspective, concerns have been expressed about both the visual impact, because it's towering over the front of the school, but there's also an audible impact. You can hear the humming on the lines on a very humid day. You hear the crackling in the lines and there's been some apprehension from school staff here. Though Dominion Energy has assured us that the safety is not the concern, it's a visual and an audial impact as you're right there at the front of the
schools. And then, of course, I had mentioned before about the concerns that we have with construction, but I'm confident that we can work with the Dominion engineers and contracting team to make sure that we still have access to the site and can work around it. It'll be inconvenient as any construction project is, but it's going to be a real challenge for us, getting all the kids, all the buses, all the parents in and out of the schools every day while the main driveway, or very close proximity to the main driveway, is under heavy construction.
Thank you, Mr. Treanor. And is it your understanding that if these transmission lines go forward in some form, will that be the end of Dominion's requests to us, or do you expect that there would be more in the future? I'm not in a position to answer that, ma'am. Sorry. That's all right. Thank you. No, anyone else? Mr. Pepper? Chair Donahue, and this might be a question just for the greater good, and it's probably for Mr. Allen. Can you just briefly, if you can, explain Dominion's right to eminent domain? In other words, if we don't approve
or acquiesce to any of these routes, are they able to just come and take what they want? So, thank you for the question, Mr. Pepper. Again, I think it would be speculative. There's a number of approaches and considerations, and so I wouldn't feel comfortable providing speculation at this point to the board. Ms. Ricardi. Thank you, Madam Chair. So I understand that the Amazon facility is to the east of all of this. And I get that there's existing lines there that they apparently can't co-locate,
or they're not going to put these new poles in there. Has Dominion gone back to Amazon at all to ask any more questions about moving these poles over on that part of the property and/or asking for an easement from them? It's going to be a data center, so there won't be children and families on at least that part of it. Do you know if they've gone over and asked them, and had any questions about that at this point? I'm not aware of any conversations that Dominion has had with the Amazon site. I guess my next question is- It was not part of... Through the
initial routing proposals that we started off with, where there were one through seven, none of those alternate routes were through that developed site. Initially, they were looking at trying to come down that east side of our property and then trying to go east over Talks Road, but I know there was a conflict with the radar at the airport that they didn't have the clearance on that. And so that really kind of forced the hand of Dominion on this particular Route 4 to then turn and go west across the bottom of the campus.
There really were no other better options that we were shown by Dominion to get around the school campuses. Yeah, I'm going to have more questions about that one in a minute. But when we look at this Loudoun Reserve Parkway, it looks to me that the yellow line is actually on the north side of that road, which would be in our parking lot or in the median between the parking lot and the street. Yeah. The gas line easement is basically on the north curb and goes into that median that's on the north side of the driveway as it runs across the front of the school. So it's
at the curb line on the north side of the drive and then into the median that crosses over. So that's the gas easement? That's the gas easement. Okay. That orange, yellow, gold, whatever that line on the map. Depends on which one we're looking at, they're different colors. Yeah. And then so that means that the poles are going to have to be on the south side of the road? They would have to be outside of the gas line easement. So once again, the details have not been worked out. The road could be slightly relocated. There's a lot of engineering still to do if this route is selected on the final siting. Okay. And then have we taken a look and done any studies yet or looked at the
impact on the Broad Run stream for either one of these routes? So I know that Dominion Power had looked at the impact on the Broad Run stream, and that was part of the report that was filed with the SEC in the initial study. I'm not in a position to really describe what those impacts were, but it was studied as part of this overall project. Okay. And then I know we have responsibilities to have tree lines between our property and neighboring properties. So what happens on any one of these routes if those get eliminated? How do we continue to create that buffer?
So we would work with county staff to determine where the buffer could go if a buffer was still required in that area. And then we would work with Dominion to try to reestablish that buffer. We would ask Dominion to do that as part of this project where it could be done. There may be locations where it's just not possible to reestablish that buffer. And how much say do we have in where these footings go on our property if we provide easement? I don't know for sure. We have been told by Dominion staff that they will work with us in the process on the, as I said, the micro
siting of where these towers go. So what you see on the map is the general location. Obviously, the school board, we're not in a position tonight to give the school board an easement to sign. So you would be approving the concept of this line going and giving permission for the line to go across the school property if you were to choose Route 4. And then once that's done, if the SEC agreed to change their approved route to Route 4, Dominion would then proceed with doing the final engineer drawings where they would come back to
staff. I'm sure we would meet on site. We would talk about the actual siting of where the poles are and then work with them to make very fine adjustments, very small distance changes to work around any major obstacles that we saw on the campus. Thank you. Mr. Treanor, do you have any sense of how this project would fit into any future electrical infrastructure, power infrastructure plans or designs on the part of the county or Dominion that are being proposed or considered? I'm not aware of
those long-term plans. Thank you. This proposal is being put forward in my understanding because someone has determined there is a need to provide greater extent of supply for electrical demand. Do you know who sets those regulations or requirements? So PJM, they manage the regional grid in this area, electrical grid in this area, identified a critical need for additional power in this specific area connecting the Mars and Golden substations. And it's, as was in
the notes earlier and the readout, this is part of a three-phase project, critical project to stabilize the electrical infrastructure here around the Ashburn area. And this is the final phase for approval. So PJM identified the need for this power. They went because it's in the Dominion service area. Dominion was the one that was asked to implement this. So this is not Dominion making up that they need to put a power line through everybody's front yard and across the schools. The regional grid provider, the regional electrical
coordinator said this power is needed. It's needed for this area and it's needed quickly. And so it puts everybody in kind of a bad situation of trying to figure out how to make this happen, how to get these lines to connect the substations, and the very first meeting we had with Dominion was that there is no good option. It's a terrible location to try to put in these industrial power lines. There was no good route connecting these locations. And so, the county staff, school staff, Dominion energy engineers
met multiple times for a year and a half, where Dominion was coming back in presenting different ideas and options that they were the ones responsible for developing and presenting those routes and trying to get feedback from staff about concerns that we saw immediately as the routes came up. And obviously, we have concerns about routes on school property with this. But it's Dominion that's putting this in and doing the design, but if they don't, then they're held responsible at the federal level when our infrastructure here doesn't meet
federal standards for reliability and power. Thank you. And you mentioned that PJM flagged the need for more power. Does PJM set the standard or do they enforce standards set by some other entity? It's my understanding that they manage the grid. They're not the enforcement authority. And I'm sorry, I don't have all the details, but federally, there are standards for power conditions and what the power supply should be and how clean the power should be. And PGM identifies where we have load concerns in our region,
and then they proceed through the process with the power company to identify solutions for those. And then in Virginia, the need for the power, it has to be approved by the SEC, and then the proposed solution of how to route that power has to be approved by the SEC. And the SEC has validated that there is a need for the power in this area, and then, of course, they have already approved Route 3A to get that power to this location. Thank you. And has Dominion worked cooperatively with LCPS
on previous projects? Yes. From a staff perspective, we have a very good working relationship with Dominion. They provide power to about two-thirds of our schools. And throughout the process of school construction or as we do upgrades to the schools, we have a very good relationship with Dominion Power. Thank you, Mr. Trainer. Ms. Ricardi. Thank you, Madam Chair. Can you explain to me really quickly how are the substation locations determined? And by the way, power lines and this stuff was not on my bingo card when I ran for school board, so I apologize for the questions, but there's a couple of things here, nuances here I'm not clear on.
And it's my understanding that the actual siting of the substations is approved by the county. But I don't know that answer. I know that the county is involved in that approval process. I know that it's not the schools on the substations. Okay. Thank you. Okay. I will be glad to yield to my fellow members, but I did want to take the opportunity to put some of my thoughts out there, because this has been, as a number of people acknowledged in the comments today, this has been a
very difficult process of working through the equities in this situation. In my mind, I think I've been trying to focus on the decision that's directly in front of us. There's a lot of conversation in our community and in the broader community right now about data centers and whether the rise of data centers is an overall good or bad impact on Loudoun County and Northern Virginia, and who gets the credit or blame for the data centers, depending on your point of view, if you think they've been a net good or a net harm.
I think those are all important conversations to have. I don't think that personally, speaking for myself, not for my fellow board members and not as a board position, I don't think that's the conversation we should be having right now. Although it is a valid conversation that should be had. And I understand the people in the community who are saying it's unfair and we shouldn't be in this position. I agree. I agree with Ms. Ricardi. I did not anticipate making decisions about where to stick power lines when I ran for school board. That's not what we're here for. We are here to make the decisions to protect the best interests of our
students, our teachers, our schools, and our communities. And we do make hard decisions every day that affect thousands of people, and we're very aware, I will gladly speak for my colleagues on that point, we are very aware of the seriousness, the gravity of the decisions that we make every day. But these are not the type of decisions that any of us expected to be making. We expected to be making decisions about curriculum and dress codes and calendars, not about where to put power lines. We're not best positioned to be making these
decisions. We're not engineers. We're not electricians. And we are in a difficult position because this does put us both, it pits us against the community, it pits us against the county government. All of that being said, the question that was originally put to this board a year and a half ago was, "Here are five proposed transmission lines. Which one can you live with? Which one would you agree to?" And to me, I think we break that down into some sub-questions. First, is there an actual need for this increased power supply?
I don't think that there is really a dispute about that. We just look around every day when we drive through Loudoun County at the new housing developments that are going up, the new data centers that are going up, and other structures and buildings and infrastructure. And that sucks up a lot of power and a lot of water and a lot of resources. And yes, do I also have concern when I look at the development that has happened in Loudoun over the last 10 to 15 years about how that has happened, if there has been a comprehensive forward-thinking plan, if there has been proper consideration of
and planning for potential downsides? Yes, I do have some concerns about that. But again, in my mind, that is a side issue. It's an important side issue But if there is a need for more power supply right now, facing us right now then I think the next question for me is okay, then are overhead lines the best or only way? At the beginning of this conversation, we were saying no. We were saying we want to see undergrounding, we want to see a broader conversation along the lines of what else can be done here.
And I know many of us feel strongly that overhead power lines are not the best or only answer, and that we should fight them tooth and nail. I don't even necessarily disagree with that, except now we're in the position where the State Corporation Commission has given us an order saying we are authorizing Route 4 or Route 3A. So now we're in a different posture. This has been authorized, so yes, we can continue to fight it in court with the knowledge that we might be successful, but we might
lose. We might get stuck with one of these transmission lines at the end of the day. The decision might be taken out of our hands. That's my concern, and I hear the concern of not wanting to set a precedent that if we say yes to Dominion today, that they're going to come back and ask and ask and ask over and over again. I am sensitive to that concern, and I share it, and I also think that's going to happen even if we fight tooth and nail and force the state to take this decision out of our hands and make it for us. I think that will happen anyway. LCPS is the largest landowner in Loudoun County, and if
Dominion needs to run power lines through Loudoun County in the future, I think there is a good likelihood they're going to want to try and do it on our property or near enough to our property that they need easements for it. But I also don't like the idea of setting the precedent that we will abdicate our role in having a voice in these conversations by handing it over to the State Corporation Commission to say, "Well, we've decided 3A is the best, so that's what we're going to go with, and LCPS, you just have to live with that."
That's my concern, is that decision being taken out of our hands in this instance and possibly in the future. So I have really been struggling personally with if there is any resolution to be had here. But my feeling from the beginning, is that if the writing is on the wall that we have to have something, I would rather we be an active participant in the conversation about what can we live with, than to say, "Okay, well, we'll let the state take it by eminent domain
or condemn certain property and take the decision out of our hands." So that's my two cents. Ms. Riccardi. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate that. I appreciate that perspective. The first thing I want to say is I want to thank all of you guys for being here tonight, and you have been consistently showing up for multiple years now on this issue, here with the SEC hearings. I was here for those, and I think you guys came out. This place was packed multiple days for that. You guys have shown up at school board meetings by the hundreds to share with us your view on this, and you all tonight have
put aside your personal plans for the evening as we have too, to be here, and I appreciate the fact that you all have done that, and you've been very consistently showing up. I think that's really important, and I appreciate your fight, and I hope you will continue to do so, and I will for sure do that on your behalf as to the degree that I can. I want to be really direct about where I think we are right now, because that's just kind of how I operate. This school board's first and primary responsibility is protecting our campuses and protecting our students and our staff. It's to provide safe places for them to learn and to provide our staff a safe
place to work. That responsibility does not stop at the schoolhouse door. It extends not only to our schools, but to our school grounds, and that land that we are holding in trust for our students is absolutely critical. A high voltage transmission line has been routed to cross the school board property, as we all know, and it will literally provide serious consequences for our students. I will say it very clearly what I believe. Our school property is not the place for high voltage power lines. Hard stop for me. I wouldn't
want it in my own backyard, and as an elected official, I would not have this go through my own backyard. I wouldn't want my children going to a school where high voltage power lines are strung all around it, and I would argue that the people that are making these decisions wouldn't do it either. Yet here we are. I also want to be honest about what's being asked of us. And this transmission line and the substations that feed it are permanent. They'll be standing here for decades, but the industry driving them may not. AI is moving very fast.
Even in the last six months, things have moved very quickly, and I question whether or not these huge data centers that are all over the Sterling District, the Dulles District, all of us that are here in the central part of Loudoun County, are going to be needed in the long term, yet we're going to string high voltage power lines all over this county. I don't know about the rest of you, but my husband and I came here because it was green. We love the green spaces. We love being outdoors. When I walk and drive through Loudoun Valley Estates every evening,
there are hundreds of people out walking the paths I've watched over in the Sterling Park side, the WOND Trail, get its trees completely cleared out. It is so hot in the summer, I won't even walk it anymore because there are no trees providing any shade or cover. And I will be heartbroken if that happens to these trails around here, which is exactly what's being proposed on some of these routes. It's atrocious. And one of the greatest things about this campus in particular that I really love is the fact that uniquely the Broad Run Stream Park runs around the
north and west side of this campus, giving our students and our teachers a plethora of opportunity to provide outdoor learning spaces, which I think are absolutely essential and very unique here. And it's appalling to me. It's appalling to me that we're being put in the position to have to make these decisions, and I really feel for all of our homeowners here in Loudoun Valley Estates because many of you created your forever homes here because of the green spaces, because of the great schools. And again, I would argue the people that are making these decisions and putting us back into a corner would never choose this for
themselves, yet they're choosing it for this community. And I'm disgusted, would be a good word I'd probably use for that. It's really, really disappointing that we're in this position. I am not going to vote, nor am I going to support 3A, 3B, any three derivatives or four, and I would really hope that my colleagues would support us really pushing back on this entire issue, because we cannot do this and allow this to happen on other campuses. I hope it never comes out to Western Loudoun. They're in a unique situation with their land.
But at the end of the day, I think this entire county is going to wind up in five or 10 years not looking anything like it is. The green spaces will be gone, and I'm really, really concerned about that. It's what drew people to come here to begin with. So, with that said, and I have so much more I could say, but I'll just leave it at that for now. Madam Chair, I would like to move to suspend the rules to permit the school board to consider and act upon Policy 6355 this evening. There has been a motion made to suspend the rules. There is no discussion on such motions. Is there a second?
Second. The motion has been properly made by Ms. Ricardi and seconded by Mr. Svenson. It does require a two-thirds vote. We will now take the vote. If you are in support of suspending the rules, please raise your hand and say aye. Aye. How many ayes? One, two, three. We're good. I'm not sure why that's... Yeah. Okay. All right. Sorry. Raise your hand and say aye. Aye. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Okay. All those opposed, raise your hand and say nay.
I'm no. And I'm going to check with Chair Chandler. We- She hung up on me. Oh, whoops. Did we lose her? We did. That's okay. We'll get it back. All right. We had Chair Chandler on the phone. I inadvertently disconnected, but I am messaging with her, and she advises me that she is also a yes. So, that motion passes eight to one with Vice Chair Donahue opposed and all other board members in support. Ms. Ricardi, do you have a motion? I do. I would like to make a motion that we adopt Policy 6355, the
Electric Transmission and Powerline Facilities on LCPS Property, as presented. The motion has been made by Ms. Ricardi, and I believe seconded by Dr. Rashid? Second. And seconded by Dr. Rashid. Ms. Ricardi, would you like to speak to your motion? I will. Thank you, Madam Chair. So, this policy was created in consultation with the legal counsel and outside counsel, and in coordination with several members of the school board. Policy 6355 is very straightforward. It establishes that Loudoun County Public Schools will not voluntarily
allow electric transmission or power lines to be sited on school board property, on any of our property, regardless of voltage and whether the line would run overhead or underground. It is a property management and non-consent policy. It makes clear that the decision about what happens on our land belongs to this board, in public, and that approval of the route by another authority is not the same as our consent. It preserves this board's ability to consider a site-specific exception in the future, but only by a vote of the full board,
in the open, and only after a documented review. It does not override any other agency's authority. It simply says that our property is ours to steward on behalf of our students. Thank you, Ms. Ricardi. Before we go any further, I want to check in with Chair Chandler. I'm going to check in and make sure that we have Chair Chandler back and also ask her to verify that she voted yes on suspension of the rules. Thank you, Chair Chandler. Please proceed. I'm going to check in to
make sure that we have Chair Chandler back and also ask her to verify that she voted yes on suspension of the rules. I am happy to verify that I voted yes on suspension of the rules. And Madam Chair, do you want to make any other comments at this time? I am happy to verify that I voted yes on suspension of the rules. And Madam Chair, do you want to make any other comments at this time? Yes, thank you. I really want to actually start off by saying a great big thank you. The board had some scheduled maintenance in our boardrooms during the July recess, and it just was not
possible for us to meet in the boardroom. And I just want to thank the DDI staff in particular for how hard they worked, not just to make it possible for me to participate, but to make it possible that we could even have a meeting in July, given that our boardrooms are out of commission, and to make something workable in Rock Ridge, when we really didn't know if it would work. And I just want to say I think they did a great job. I am very happy to speak up and offer my support
to Ms. Ricardi's policy. I'm very much in favor of this, and given the opportunity, just want to reiterate that I know that my responsibility as a member and also the responsibility of the entire Loudoun County School Board as a whole is to keep our kids safe and ensure that they have an environment that is conducive to learning and thriving. We have some very deep concerns about whether or not that's possible, given the proposed construction of a new transmission line, which could directly infringe on the land
used by students and teachers in our schools. And with that, I would like to make some other comments, but I'll stay germane to the motion, so hopefully when we go back out, I can come back in. But thank you very much for making this possible. Thank you, Chair Chandler. Dr. Rashid. Thank you, Chair Donahue. I'm in support of this policy and what Ms. Ricardi has proposed. I live in LV2. Even though I live in Little River District, LV2 is kind of divided, just letting my board members know here, LV2 is kind of divided geographically, where some
people are districted in Little River. My kid goes to Rock Ridge High School, so for me, this hits home. Many years ago, I came out as a parent for the Purple Line, and unfortunately, we lost as a community, and now we're stuck with some of the power lines that you see currently. So I just wanted to make sure that everybody knows that there's a lot of heart in this, and I am hopeful that we'll get a solution. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Dr. Rashid. I will say I will not be supporting the motion for a couple of reasons.
First, because I don't like suspending the rules generally, and that's why I did not vote in support of suspending the rules. I have voted in favor of it on other occasions when there has been a pressing, time-sensitive, urgent need to do so. In this case, because, and I will ask Mr. Allen to correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe whether we pass this policy tonight or not would not have any controlling impact on our-- is a completely separate issue from any decision we might make with
regard to the Golden to Mars transmission lines. Mr. Allen, do I have that right? Thank you, Acting Chair Donahue. In terms of passing this policy, it is an incidental motion to the topic for discussion and action. So it is properly before the board. The rules have been suspended. However, what the policy does essentially is really confirm the property management instrument or preference of the board at this time. But because it was not in play
during the SEC proceeding, you are correct that I don't believe that it would preserve any rights with regarding to the proceeding. Thank you, Mr. Allen. Additionally, typically our policies come up through committee. Obviously we are on our summer recess right now, and our committees are not meeting. But typically the way that this policy would've come before the board would be to go through one of the committees, likely the Finance and Operations Committee. It would be sent out for public feedback.
It would be an information item and then an action item, and there would be lots of opportunity to review it and make suggestions. I applaud Ms. Ricardi's fighting so hard for the community. But I, first of all, would propose that I would be much more in favor of this policy going through committee or at least coming back before the full board in the fall when we get back to our regular meetings. I don't think it's actually germane to the purpose of the special meeting that we convened and noticed here tonight And I think it should go through the normal channels.
In addition, I will not support policies that tie the hands of future board actions and decisions. I did not vote in favor of the amendments to the cellphone tower location policy. I abstained from that vote specifically because it was already written into our policies that whether a cellphone tower would be located on an LCPS property was a case-by-case individual decision that had to be voted on by the board in an individual capacity. And the same, I believe, would be true here.
If there were any future requests for power lines to go across our school or otherwise that would need an easement, that would have to be decided on an individual basis by the board. I am generally not in support of policies that say future boards must do a thing or cannot do a thing. I don't think that's appropriate. So those are my reasons why I won't be supporting the policy tonight. I do encourage my colleagues to consider tabling this for future discussion and/or going through committee.
Thank you. Mr. Svenson. Chair Donahue. I appreciate those concerns about going through the committee process. I do think this is an exceptional circumstance where we need to speak clearly and definitively on this issue for the community. It was striking to me to hear from the public commenters apologies to us for being in this position, but the people who are really owed an apology are you all, who are experiencing this, and I think this is a way-too-late wake-up call for the community, that we're behind the ball on dealing with power infrastructure,
and data centers in particular in this county. And I think we as a school board have an opportunity tonight to set the tone for how we're going to proceed going forward with respect to transmission lines on school properties. I will note that the policy also does have Section F, which allows exceptions to the general approach, and details how you would go about getting an easement in exceptional circumstances. So that allays concerns for me about tying the hands of a future board in some kind of circumstance that we can't foresee at this point in
time. But I think it is very important for us to communicate what our values are in this clear way through this policy that we could adopt tonight. Thank you. Mr. Pepper. Chair Donahue. This policy is, as my colleague Mr. Svenson just said, kind of a bold public statement, right? This is a statement about our values and exactly what we believe regarding the safety of our students, our staff, our faculty. And it's apropos that it comes out tonight.
That being said, with this policy coming out tonight, it feels very reactionary. In other words, we're doing this because this awful, as one person called it, a Sophie's Choice, has landed at our footsteps. Whether or not we approve this policy tonight-- I will tell you, I like this policy. It's a great policy. Whether or not we approve this policy tonight really has no bearing on our decision on this Golden to Mars routing whatsoever, which is what we're here to discuss. I would love, and I'm in agreement with Vice Chair Donahue here, and I might be in the minority, and that's okay. I would love just a little more time to
craft this, flesh this out, run it through committee, not because I'm against the policy, but because the sense of urgency in stating our values is here. I think that the community can see our values on display, right, with what we've said tonight. I think we all are very much in lockstep about what should and shouldn't be done on school property. But to come up with a policy and present it in just an immediate reactionary, this issue is coming on, it worries me a little bit. Would love to get this right, and I'm not against the
policy at all, so please don't think that I'm against the policy. It's a great policy. But I really would love for this to go to committee, and I would like to make a motion to send this to committee. Second. That motion has been made by Mr. Pepper and seconded by Vice Chair Donahue. Mr. Pepper, would you like to speak further to your motion? I think I've summed it up pretty succinctly, Madam Vice Chair. Thank you, Mr. Pepper. Is there a discussion on Mr. Pepper's substitute motion to send this to committee? Right, that's what you said, "Send this to committee." Okay. Madam Vice Chair, I believe that would be Finance and
Operations? I believe it would be- Yes ... Finance and Operations. Yes. Mrs. Griffiths. Chair. The Finance and Operations Committee, I am the chair of that committee. I think this policy, with Ms. Ricardi's amendment, is clear and to the point, and we should be following what we did with cell towers. I don't know why it would have to go through committee when I think the amendment is sufficient to go into the policy. So I just wanted to be clear, I am not going to vote for it to come back to
committee because I think it's very clear what we should be doing with that policy. I also want to mention that I've been a community member here in Ashburn for 20 years, and I've said this before, I do not like driving around and seeing data centers everywhere. But above all else And a lot of them are in industrial parks. But when it comes to our schools and our neighborhoods, that is a no for me. So I will not be voting on 3A. I'm going to piggyback off Ms. Ricardi, I will not be voting on any of those
routes as well. So I just wanted to make that clear, because I didn't mention that before today. So thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Griffis. Ms. Labelle. Chair Donahue. We have one mission, and it's been stated by all of us one way or another tonight, and by many of the people that are still here waiting for advice, direction from us. That mission is to educate safely our children in Loudoun County. This proposal
by Ms. Ricardi, passed tonight, puts the stamp on the fact that we intend to consider the safety of these children. We really need to come out strongly about this. Whatever we decide is going to be not just a precedent here in Loudoun County or just in Virginia. It will set a national precedent. We need to be strong, we need to be
proactive, and we need to get on the ball and show that we are concerned about the safety, and that we will protect our children in as many ways as we can. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Labelle. I wanted to make a clarification that Ms. Ricardi's proposed policy 6355, my understanding is it is a wholesale brand new policy. Correct. Okay. Thank you. That was what I thought. The cell phone tower policy had been a preexisting policy that was amended. This policy on electronic
transmission and power line facilities on LCPS property is brand new. Okay. Thank you. Is there any further discussion on the substitute motion? Ms. Ricardi. On the substitute motion, no. I'm good. If there is no further discussion on the substitute motion, we will take a vote on the substitute motion made by Mr. Pepper to send this proposed policy to the Finance and Operation Committee. All those in favor, please raise your hand and say "Aye." Aye. Okay. I see three. And I understand. Okay. And all those opposed, please raise your hand and say "No."
No. No. No. One, two, three, four, five. Okay. And are there any abstentions? No abstentions. And Ms. Chandler. On the substitute, she's no. Nay. Okay. Thank you, Chair Chandler. That motion fails with Mr. Pepper and Vice Chair Donahue in support. And Ms. Chernov. And Ms. Chernov, excuse me. With Ms. Chernov, Mr. Pepper, and Vice Chair Donahue in support, and all the remaining board members opposed. So we will return to the original base motion on the floor, which is Ms. Ricardi's motion to
implement policy 6355. Is there further discussion on the base motion? Okay. Seeing none, we will now vote on the base motion. All those in favor, please raise your hand and say "Aye." Aye. Aye. Aye. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. And Chair Chandler, what is your vote? Aye. Okay. All right. Aye. Okay. I will abstain. That motion passes with Vice Chair Donahue abstaining and the other eight members in support. Okay, so that resolves the only motion that was pending on the floor.
Is there other discussion, board members? No. Okay. I believe Chair Chandler has a proposed motion. Chair Chandler, do you have a motion? Thank you, Chair Donahue. I wanted to start out, given the technical challenges that are present for me this evening, I wanted to take a minute to go on the record and say our job is not to be city planners or county planners, but unfortunately, it feels a little bit like a responsibility that many of the parties in this matter have attempted to pass on to us
I would say I am baffled, frankly, and very perplexed that we're in this position. I appreciate a community member that said it felt like Sophie's Choice. It's a very difficult decision to make. The parties invested in this matter have developed these unworkable demands and established arbitrary deadlines and stripped away reasonable alternatives like placing the line underground. And here are some of the things that I'm struggling with. Aside from community members and some school board members, there doesn't seem to be any acknowledgement of any of the
inherent or unknown potential health risks. On the next issue, frankly, if the data centers that are here in Loudoun County are the internet, Loudoun County contains the largest concentration of data centers in the world. How did anyone with the power to make these decisions decide to centralize this vital resource here without a reasonable plan for how to protect and power it? Asking if it's too expensive feels like the wrong question to me. If it is truly a crucial resource the world relies on, then the
only conversation should be what is the safest, most secure way to protect this resource? We know that there are about 250 data centers in the county, and given the grandfathering that was allowed, another potential 100 could be in the pipeline. And I've heard by some estimates that that could actually double the square footage of data centers in the county. To me, it feels like the demand isn't going to go away. There will be more. I believe that schools should be sacred. This is a commitment that we make to the future.
Putting this infrastructure on our school property and in our communities, frankly, feels like borrowing against our students to power corporate interests, and I'm really struggling with it. Students losing out to make room for further expansion of data centers supporting infrastructure feels like a real emergency to me. Dominion making profits doesn't feel like the most essential part of this decision. I think there are reasons to consider, regardless of whether or not it's appropriate to talk about it at this very moment. It is still important to ask how
we get to this position. And I know all of our jobs as elected officials are hard. I heard some of our colleagues on the board of supervisors mention that. They are hard. And when they pass their resolution, they noted how hard it is to make these decisions, and that resolution is what led us here to take this up tonight. As elected officials, we all together represent the people of this community and the people of Loudoun County. And I want to go on the record tonight and note two things. I appreciate Supervisor Sain's commitment to make a motion that the
board of supervisors will avoid the placement of future high voltage power lines on school board property as part of the pending comprehensive plan, and Dominion's pledge to avoid school property in future high voltage transmission lines. It's a start, but we cannot be in this position again, ever. Our focus has to remain student safety and preserving learning environments. We are here to serve our students, teachers, and families, and we must all refocus on delivering for the people who elected us. I really do look forward to continuing this dialogue, not as
under the pressure of corporate interest, but on a level playing field as partners with community members and all of us mutually dedicated to Loudoun County. And to that end, I would like to make a motion. I move that the Loudoun County School Board authorize counsel for the school board to file a reconsideration clarification petition in the PUR-2025-00056 matter pending before the Virginia State Corporation
Commission on behalf of the school board, along with other pleadings to include a notice of appeal as may be required to safeguard the school board's interest. Additionally, I move that the school board authorize a without prejudice negotiation track focused on safeguarding student safety and school operations. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Can you confirm that that is one motion, not two separate motions? Negotiation track focused on safeguarding student safety and school operations. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Can you confirm that is one motion, not two separate motions? Negotiation track focused on safeguarding student safety and school operations.
Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Can you confirm that is one motion, not two separate motions? Sorry about the feedback here. I intended that to be one motion. Thank you, Madam Chair. I second. Would you like to speak further to your motion? That motion has been properly made by Chair Chandler and seconded by Vice Chair Donahue. Madam Chair, would you like to speak further to your motion? Would you like to speak further to your motion? That motion has been properly made by Chair Chandler
and seconded by Vice Chair Donahue. Madam Chair, would you like to speak further to your motion? ... that we're in, and I won't say anything further. Thank you, Madam Chair. Opening that up for discussion. Board members, is there a discussion on the motion? Mr. Svenson. Thank you, Vice Chair Donahue. I would like to offer a friendly amendment for the second sentence of that motion. I would propose that it read, "Additionally, I move that the school board authorize a without prejudice negotiation regarding the proposed transmission line routes with Dominion that is focused on safeguarding student safety and school operations."
Thank you, Mr. Svenson. Chair Chandler, do you accept the friendly amendment? Doing the best we can here, so. Chair Chandler, do you accept the friendly amendment? Yes, I do. Thank you, Chair Chandler. That is accepted, so now that is part of the base motion. Is there discuss-- Dr. Rashid. I'm sorry. If Mr. Svenson can just clarify what he said again. Absolutely. My amendment changes the second sentence to say, "Additionally, I move that the school board authorize a without prejudice
negotiation regarding the proposed transmission line routes with Dominion that is focused on safeguarding student safety and school operations." I'm simply proposing that change because I thought this would be clearer in terms of what negotiation track meant by listing what the subject of the negotiation was and with whom we're negotiating. Thank you, Dr. Rashid and Mr. Svenson. Mr. Pepper. Sure. I would love, and maybe Mr. Allen or someone else on the board can clarify this, for the public
as well. This motion is, and I'm going to say this as a layman because my job in education is to break really complicated things down and simplify them for my students. I would love if we could clarify exactly what this motion means in the parlance of Reddit, explain it to me like I'm five. Layman's terms. Layman's terms. Thank you. Mr. Pepper, is that question for Chair Chandler or for Mr. Allen? Either Chair Chandler or perhaps Mr. Allen since we have a little bit late. In the most simplest of terms, voting for this motion, what does it do? Mr. Allen, are you willing and able to take a stab at that?
Thank you, Acting Chair Donahue. Given that it was Chair Chandler's motion, I think the intent behind it is probably best explained to her. Thank you, Mr. Allen. So I give it to Chair Chandler. What do you believe approving this motion would do? Chair Chandler, can you please go into a little bit more detail of what your motion would do? Okay. Thanks everybody. My intention with this motion is to give us a clean path forward so that we
really can explore all of the options available to us, which has been our practice in this matter so far. I want us to not have to convene another meeting. I want to be able to authorize some of the legal actions that are, or the legal recourse that we have at our disposal, and I want to do it so that it's efficient and gives us the ability perhaps even to fall back into the
capability to negotiate on some of these, maybe even micro-siting points. But in doing it this way, I'm hoping to set us on a path that gives us more choices. Thank you, Madam Chair. Is there further discussion? Ms. Chernov. Thank you, Vice Chair Donahue. I echo a lot of what my colleagues believe and have said tonight, and I've kind of stayed quiet in the background because I've been listening and processing and thinking. I also am very appreciative for the community showing up, and I know that you have been showing up.
And I want you to know that we've been showing up. We've been listening to these requests for quite some time, and we have been processing through what that means for each of us, for what it could mean for our districts in the future. Obviously, this is not Leesburg, but this impacts our students, and so I take that very seriously. And I also agree with my colleagues that never did I ever think I was signing up for power line conversations, but we're here and it's important. Before I ask my question to Ms. Chandler about her motion, I kind of want to wrap some of my thoughts into it,
if that's okay. I echo a lot of what Ms. Donahue has said tonight in her opening comments. Obviously, this is a very difficult position to be in. I think we've belabored that point quite well tonight. But I also want to make sure that we are ... living in the reality of where we are, and that we're being a realist about what the next step is. And I think one of our speakers tonight said, obviously, if we could do none of these routes, if that was the reality, we want that. And also, if not, then what is, as Ms. Donahue said, the one
that we can live with? And someone always loses in that situation. And so we do understand the weight of that decision. I also know that there are swirling conversations around other issues that are germane to why we need the power lines, but I also want to stay focused on the task at hand. And I do not want the need for power, which we do need it, I believe that we do, I do not want that to become the focus of dividing our community, dividing our neighborhoods, and dividing our
governing bodies. Because this is now our lane because it is the easement that they need in order to accomplish the goal here. But also, the board of supervisors also has to make those decisions as well in terms of making recommendations to us, and that is also their lane. And so I'm hopeful and I'm grateful for the resolution, and I'm grateful for the communication that I've had over the last couple of weeks with them. I'm hopeful that this meeting will serve as a new starting point for partnering together with you all after
hearing from you, and I thank Ms. Ricardi for being so deeply involved with her district and her community to make sure that we can have those options. So I guess as a follow-up to what Ms. Chandler has offered, my, I don't want to say fear, but my concern is that we are going to ultimately be sitting right back at this place. No matter how many legal battles we decide to embark on, on behalf of our community and our school, there is a likelihood, in my mind, that we could be coming right back here. And I think one thing that most of us can agree on is 3A is
not a good option. It's, in fact, to me, the worst one. So how, I guess, Ms. Chandler, does your amendment and your motion help us pursue other options but also leave the door open for keeping the ball in our court in terms of negotiations should we be back in this place? Do you want me to summarize for myself? Ms. Chernov, could you please repeat your question? Thank you so much for your question. Oh, I missed you guys. Sorry. I really think, as a starting point when it comes to the motion,
that we have a responsibility to the community to explore every option that is at our disposal. I don't want to miss the opportunity to take any of the options that we have that could lead us to a better outcome. That said, I don't necessarily think that-- We certainly could discuss it further, but I don't think it's our best strategy
to perhaps go on the record, and I would like to make sure that we can do multiple things at the same time. And that's one of the reasons why we mention the motion for reconsideration clarification, because there are still some issues that are outstanding around the parcel donation. I definitely don't want us to have to have another meeting or to convene another session so that we take another public vote on the notice of appeal. But I do think that we should also look
into this negotiation track and see if we can come up with some better opportunities. I just want us to seize every opportunity that we have in this period to try to do what's best for our schools and for our community. Thank you, Chair Chandler. I appreciate that clarification. And I'm open to keeping doors open. Obviously, we don't want this to be the end result, but I also just wanted to make sure that I stated that should we go down all of those paths and still end up back at a decision point, we want to make sure that we can negotiate those terms.
So that's all I have to say. Thank you. Thank you, Chair Chandler and Ms. Chernov. Ms. Ricardi. Thank you, Madam Chair. I think that this motion is a really great opportunity for us. I feel like we got invited to the table at the nth hour, the very last hour of this whole entire situation. And so now we're sitting here with having to make a lot of decisions. I would really hope that in the future, and even from now into the future, that the school board is brought to the table in all of the forums that exist that are discussing power line issues,
especially when those considerations are adjacent to school board property. And I can't imagine this is going to be the only time we're having this conversation. But I think that- Dominion, the SEC, and others. I'll be honest with you, nobody's reached out to me, and this is my district, to sit down and have a conversation, sit down and talk to me about what's going on here in my own district. So, besides being enormously disappointed in that, I'm also kind of
surprised, because now everybody is pressing the school board to make decisions on this stuff. But the people that are up here that do this kind of work, I don't believe have been in those conversations. And it's been, I think, kind of assumed that perhaps the board of supervisors were making decisions, and that we would just kind of go along and roll right over and do whatever they said. I think what everybody should take away from this tonight, especially with this new policy, is that we're kind of holding our ground on this. This property and the school board property is our
property to shepherd and to protect. I personally take that responsibility enormously seriously, and I believe my colleagues do as well. I think this motion helps us explore all of the options that are available to us right now. With the new acquisition of Parcel L, I think there's a lot of questions around that. I think there's questions in other areas of this whole entire thing. So, I would always welcome conversations about not only this issue but any other issue. I have a very open door policy, and I would be happy to have conversations.
But I think honestly, I'm a little bit, I'm not going to say put out, but I'm a little surprised that there's just been an assumption that we're just going to check the box on one of these options and not push back on it. And I think people are now surprised that, "Oh my gosh, the school board's up here pushing back on it. Why in the world are they doing that? And how dare they?" Well, guess what? It's our property. We have every right to do so, and I think tonight we've shown that not only we have done it, but we're going to continue to do so. Thank you. Please hold your applause. Yeah, but- Continue, Ms. Ricardi. And thank you. And I really do love this community because this community's been enormously
passionate about this, and I assume that if this is in anybody else's backyard in this county, they'd be equally passionate about this. And I'm sorry that we're the first ones having to deal with it, but I'm really proud of this community for everything you guys have done, and I know you'll continue to fight for this. With that said, I wholeheartedly support Ms. Chandler's motion, and I appreciate it, and I will leave it at that. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Ricardi. Board members, is there any further discussion on Chair Chandler's motion? The friendly amendment. With the friendly amendment. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths.
Mr. Svendsen, could you restate the motion with the friendly amendment, please? Yes, I can. The motion with the friendly amendment reads, "I, the Loudoun County School, authorize counsel for the school board to file a reconsideration/clarification petition in the EUR 2025-00056 matter pending before the Virginia State Corporation Commission on behalf of the school board, along with other pleadings to include a notice of appeal, as may be required to safeguard the school board's
interests. Additionally, I move that the school board authorize a without prejudice negotiation regarding the proposed transmission line routes with Dominion that is focused on safeguarding student safety and school operations." Thank you, Mr. Svendsen. I will ask Chair Chandler first. Madam Chair, will you please state your vote on the motion? I will ask Chair Chandler first. Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. All right. And other board members, all those in favor, please raise your hand and say aye. Aye. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. That motion passes unanimously.
Board members, is there any further discussion or business? Seeing none, we will move on to item four, adjournment. Thank you all again for being here tonight. We will see you in August. Please get home safely.