Virginia county school board votes to revert 2 schools to Confederate names

The Shenandoah County Public Schools board voted 5-1 Thursday to revert the names of two schools in Quicksburg, Virginia, to those of Confederate officers during the Civil War.

Mountain View High School will once again be called Stonewall Jackson High School, and Honey Run Elementary School will return to Ashby Lee Elementary School. The latter school is named after Gen. Robert E. Lee and cavalry Cmdr. Turner Ashby Jr.

All three men were Virginians and all three owned slaves.

The school’s old names were originally changed amid 2020’s George Floyd riots following a letter to school districts across Virginia from then-Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, saying it was time for Confederate school names across Virginia to be retired, according to the BBC.

The decision was rushed, supporters of the reversion say, and the new vote is meant to add democratic input back into the process.

“So, for me, the main consideration is whether we, as a democratic nation of laws, will choose to ignore a decision made by a governmental body that exploited the tragedy of COVID or will rectify a wrongful action that has deeply divided our community. I choose the latter,” SCPS board member Gloria Carlineo told CNN.

A previous motion to revert the names in 2022 failed due to a tie vote according to Reuters.

The cost of restoring the old names will be paid by private donations, per the school board’s motion. SCPS will decide where restoration money is disbursed.

The name changes were spurred by a request from the local Coalition for Better Schools, which contends that the name changes are representative democracy in action.

According to the Coalition for Better Schools, 91.3% of respondents to a survey conducted by the group opposed the two original name changes and wanted them reverted.

The school district serves over 5,600 kids, with 75% White, 18% Hispanic and 3% Black.

“We understand that the decision to rename these schools was made in response to discussions surrounding Confederate symbols. However, we believe that revisiting this decision is essential to honor our community’s heritage and respect the wishes of the majority,” the group wrote in a letter to the school board.

Vice Chairman Kyle Gutshall, the lone board member against the latest change, said voters in his school board district overwhelmingly supported the Mountain View and Honey Run names, according to Reuters.

Gene Kilby, the son of a civil rights activist, also spoke against the name reversion.

“Why are we here tonight to go back to a time in history that was very cruel, where hatred and racism continued throughout this county and throughout the  United States? Is this the type of legacy that you want to put in Shenandoah County’s public school buildings?” he said.