Loudoun County, VA has been in the news before, expressing concerns that the region is digitally underserved. Although Reston, VA-based Milestone Towers has erected some cell towers in that area to help improve connectivity, residents sometimes balk when a selected site is on school property. Plans to build 150-foot cell towers at River Bend Middle School and Dominion High School have stalled out, reports Loudoun Now, after parents expressed fears about cell tower safety.
Although the county has erected cell towers at Rock Ridge High School and school-owned Mickie Gordon Memorial Park, parents successfully stopped similar plans for a cell tower slated for Freedom High School. In 2022, members of the Finance & Operations Committee were swayed by vocal parents clamoring about phantom health concerns. Though the American Cancer Society and World Health Organization continue to assert that cell towers do not pose health risks for humans, public opinion, in this case, decided against the Freedom High School cell tower proposal.
The school board overseeing both River Bend Middle School and Dominion High School has been reviewing its policies regarding cell tower placement before moving forward. The board has indicated that it wants to change the language in its agreement to force the superintendent to address cell tower proposals with the board before agreeing to allow a cell tower on school property. Backing a suggestion by committee member Melinda Mansfield, the language was revised to say that the superintendent had to consider the potential health and safety of students, staff and residents where cell towers are concerned.
“I don’t want that to be one of those factors that we don’t have to satisfy,” Mansfield told Loudoun Now. “I want to be able to satisfy that.”
After changing their language to factor in health concerns, the school board then voted to delay a final vote on the cell tower matter. The motion received unanimous support and the cell tower issue was pushed back until autumn when it will be reviewed by the full board. Some parents in attendance noted that they would use the additional time to share their fears with other concerned parents.
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