Indian Head Elementary School is now the second Charles public school currently under consideration for a name change.
Earlier in the year, Superintendent Maria Navarro was tasked by the Charles County Board of Education to begin gauging community sentiment for renaming General Smallwood Middle School. Concerns were raised about Smallwood’s history as a slaveholder during the 1700s.
So far, the community response has been split down the middle on the middle school name change, as evidenced by surveys showcased at the June board meeting.
Now, after concerns were raised toward Indian Head Elementary School, the board discussed and decided to begin the potential renaming process for that school, too.
The board can initiate or consider requests to rename a school at its discretion.
In a discussion, the only opponent of starting the renaming process was school board member David Hancock.
“I’d just like to explain my vote before we take it, just to provide some explanation as to why I will be voting against this,” Hancock said. “The main reason is because we’re already going through one renaming process at the moment that won’t be complete until November at the earliest. Not saying that this should not be brought forward, but me, personally, I think we’re moving at a very rapid pace.”
Hancock thanked members of the Piscataway Conoy Tribe for bringing the issue to light, saying that his vote was not meant to be a slight against them.
“The rationale for me, the Piscataway people spoke very passionately about what this means to them. This is not just a case of ‘I don’t like the name,’” Yonelle Moore Lee, chairperson of the board, said. “This particular name is hurtful and has a very strong, negative history that I’m not willing to ignore.”
The tribe in 2022 lobbied to change the name of Indian Head Highway. A bill was approved at the state level, but in the end the highway was dedicated to the Piscataway through signage but the name was not officially changed.
Moore Lee recognized Hancock’s point that a renaming is already in process but said that the two processes would be staggered and take place at different times.
“Just like General Smallwood, that’s offensive to me, I recognize what the Indian tribes have said,” school board member Dottery Butler-Washington said. “I don’t want to be one-sided. … I know the hurt. They know the hurt.”
School board member Jamila Smith said, “This is something that totally needs to be done.”
When a vote was taken to charge the superintendent with engaging the community on the renaming, Hancock was the only one against the matter on the board in a 9-1 vote.
Moore Lee said that she wants to conclude the matter of renaming General Smallwood Middle School in November and to bring in the matter of Indian Head Elementary School in December.
For the potential Smallwood Middle renaming, the cost could span anywhere from $64,500 to $124,500, with most of the variance coming from the type of sign the school chooses, according to a school system presentation. A traditional sign would cost about $10,000, while an LED digital sign would cost upward of $70,000.
Other potential costs include $35,000 for exterior school lettering, $3,000 for school graphic window film, $10,000 for school plaques, $1,000 for school banners and $5,500 for athletic uniforms.
Local News
