School
board member Sandy Evans (Mason) plans to ask the board to create a working
group to consider changing the name of JEB Stuart High School and report back with a recommendation by July 2017.
“After
reading historical documents and arguments on both sides, considering all the
community input to date, and discussing this with my colleagues on the school board,
I do believe this high school should have a name that is more reflective and
respectful of a diverse community,” Evans wrote in an email to constituents. “At
the same time, we need a path that gives the community more time to have input
into the decision and address key concerns.”
The
proposal for a working group would be listed as new business on the school board’s
June 30 agenda and as an action item for the July 28 meeting. If approved by
the school board, “the working group would consist of students, parents,
community members, alumni, and business and community leaders to be chosen by
the superintendent in consultation with the board,” Evans states.
Comments
from the public indicate “there are strong feelings for and against a name
change,” Evans says. Because the most frequently cited objection is about the
cost, “one of the working group’s main tasks would be to find viable solutions
to address this barrier.”
“The working group would explore public-private partnerships to finance a name change; ways to prevent added burdens on the school’s booster clubs, PTSA, and Stuart school administration; the best method for transitioning from the old name to the new; proper records retention, and the best timing for such a change,” she says. “The working group would also solicit ideas for a new name while identifying ways to honor and preserve the school’s history, traditions and past achievements and to memorialize its decades as JEB Stuart High School.”
Members of the public can email comments to Evans (ssevans@fcps.edu) or to the full school board (fairfaxcountyschoolboard@fcps.edu) before July 28 and can also sign up to testify at upcoming meetings on June 30, July 14, or July 28 on the Monday before the meeting.
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