The Washington Post Got it Wrong

In another post today about the recent clash between the School Board and the Board of Supervisors over the Rouse property, I called a particular story published online yesterday and in print today a case of "abysmal reporting" by the Washington Post. Here's why:

Problem #1:
The story in print reads:

"...the county's assessor had estimated that the land was worth dramatically less, $2.6 million."

The online story was corrected to say:

"the county had assessed the land at dramatically less, $2.6 million."

Do you see the $3.1 million difference between the two statements? No, you don't, because the Post failed to report what Leesburg Today and the Loudoun Times Mirror did, that:

According to a memo by Burton, the county assessor said the land is worth only $5.7 million. (Times Mirror)

and

"[County Assessor Todd] Kaufman's evaluation of the land placed the value at approximately $5.5 million." (Leesburg Today)

Problem #2:
The story in print reads:

Supervisors also said they were troubled that the district's offer included a $2 million bump to sweeten the pot for the owner.

The online story was corrected to say:

Supervisors also said they were troubled that the district's offer included an additional $2 million.

Do you see the difference here? The story in print implies that LCPS just tossed in an extra $2M as a favor to the owner. As it is the corrected version does nothing to explain the reason that there is a $2M "premium" on the purchase price, which is explained in my Rouse Property post.

Problem #3:
The story in print reads:

They ordered the school district to return to the owner and renegotiate the price.

The online story was corrected to say:

They asked the school district to return to the owner and renegotiate the price.

See the difference? Ordered vs. Asked. In case you were wondering, the School Board does not work for the Board of Supervisors. We work for the citizens who elect us.

Problem #4:

"County officials also have been frustrated with the cost of the schools being built by the district."

If we take at face value that "County officials" (though we don't know who they are or whether they constitute a meaningful group because this has no citations) may be frustrated, but let's remember that LCPS builds it schools for less money per student and per square foot than any other school district in Virginia. The Post should have noted this.

Problem #5:

"The acrimony comes despite a concerted effort by the supervisors to ease tensions between the two bodies."

This one phrase manages to be at once unsupported, biased and wrong. As written, one would believe that the poor, mild mannered supervisors are a put-upon bunch. At the very least the Post should note that members of the School Board have also worked to bridge the gap. In any case, while a few Supervisors have put forth an effort to improve the working relationship (Burton and Buckley get special credit here), some have actively aggravated the situation. There is certainly no "concerted effort."

Problem #6:

Also Tuesday, the board voted to take an inventory of the available properties across the county that might be suitable for schools."

As accurately reported by Leesburg Today:

"In anticipation of the summer discussion Miller presented an item at the board meeting requesting an inventory of land parcels appropriate for school uses located in the Dulles Suburban Policy Area."

Problem #7

"The hope, they said, was to provide more information to Loudoun residents and to the board, which they said is often informed about land purchases at the last minute."

The truth is that the Board of Supervisors only started paying attention at the last minute. This contract was signed by the School Board in March and engineering studies sent to County Staff in April. This is worth noting, don't you think?

March 11th: "The School Board approved authorization to sign a contract for the purchase of a parcel of land for a middle school (MS-6) and high school (HS-8). This land is 173.69 acres at the intersection of routes 621 and 617."

April 22nd: "The School Board approved conveying the findings of the engineering study of the 174-acre tract known as the Rouse property to County staff so that bond funding can be directed to the appropriate LCPS land acquisition account."

I'm a fan of this country's commitment to a free press, and generally I think our local reporters do a good job with the resources they have. Against that backdrop, this is an example of exceptionally bad journalism and the damage that can do to the public's ability to critically assess the job that its representatives are doing.