School board changes the name of Jeb Stuart High School to Justice High School
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| The audience at the school board meeting. |
The Fairfax County School Board voted Oct. 26 – after a lengthy, emotional, and at times confusing discussion – to change the name of Jeb Stuart High School to Justice High School.
The name “Justice,” as put forth by Sandy Evans (Mason), is meant to honor the three individuals – Justice Thurgood Marshall, civil rights activist Barbara Rose Johns, and World War II hero and educator Louis G. Mendez Jr. – who got the most votes from the community as an alternative to Stuart.
After the board considered several substitute motions and amendments, the final vote for Justice High School was 7 to 4.
These board members voted for changing the name to Justice: Chair Jane Strauss (Dranesville), Dalia Palchik (Providence), Ilryong Moon (at large), Ryan McElveen (at large), Pat Hynes (Hunter Mill), Karen Keys-Gamarra (at large), and Sandy Evans (Mason).
Elizabeth Schultz (Springfield), Megan McLaughlin (Braddock), Thomas Wilson (Sully), and Tamara Derenak Kaufax (Lee) voted No. Karen Corbett Sanders (Mount Vernon) left before the final vote.
This is the text of Evan’s motion adopted by the board:
“On July 27 the school board confirmed that there exists a compelling need to change the name of Jeb Stuart High School. Since the July 27 vote, the superintendent has pursued a process to determine a community recommendation for the new name. Among other things, the superintendent has convened a community meeting to solicit suggestions and held an advisory vote by households within the school’s attendance area. I move that the new name of Jeb Stuart High School will be Justice High School. I further move that the superintendent be directed to develop an implementation plan by Dec. 14, 2017.”
Marshall, Johns, and Mendez all reflect “the American ideal of justice,” Evans said, and also the values of equity, inclusion and diversity supported by the school board.
Renaming the school “Justice” represents “the power and hope of the future” and rejects “the mistakes of the past,” said Keys-Gamarra, who joined the board after a special election in August.
The students who sought to discard the name of a Confederate general are heroes, Keys-Gamarra said. “They challenged our sense of history.” The school was named in 1959 during a time when many in Virginia were resisting the Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education mandating school integration.
“There is a burden associated with the name we are removing,” Keys said. “Historic context matters. Names matter.”
Throughout the meeting, Schultz argued that by selecting Justice, the school board was ignoring the process it previously approved and was going against the will of the community.
When households within the Stuart attendance area were given a chance to vote on the 73 names proposed at a community meeting, “Stuart High School” got the most votes, followed by Marshall, Johns, Peace Valley, and Mendez. The board resolution in July said, “Stuart High School” should be considered as one of the options.
For Schultz, the issue is all about process. She urged the school board to follow its own rules and select one of the names supported by the community.
Recognizing that there weren’t enough votes on the board for Stuart, Schultz offered a substitute motion to change the name to Col. Louis G. Mendez Jr. High School. Mendez, she said, is a Latino, a highly decorated World War II and Korean War veteran, an educator, and a resident of Lake Barcroft who sent eight of his 12 children to Stuart.
That motion failed on a tie vote. A motion by Wilson to change the name to Stuart High School also failed.
Schultz then put forth a motion in favor of Barbara Rose Johns. Keys-Gamarra proposed an amendment to that motion to change the name to Justice Thurgood Marshall High School, with the school “to be known as Justice High School,” which failed to pass. The board then voted in support of Justice High School which would honor Marshall, Johns, and Mendez.
The name Stuart had been selected decades ago to “honor and glorify those who fought against equality and justice,” McElveen said. “Justice High School honors those who fought for those values.”
Acknowledging the process “was a bit messy,” Evans said that, in the end, “we respected the community’s desires” expressed through emails, testimony, and conversations. “We are righting the wrongs of the past, rejecting the legacy of massive resistance and a school board that dragged its heels on integration.”
Fairfax County Public Schools has set up an online portal for donations from the public to help cover the cost of the name change.
Huh?
So uncomfortable that the new name has ICE in it.
Bull Shit! "Evans said that, in the end, “we respected the community’s desires” expressed through emails, testimony, and conversations." They are not! They don't give a damn about what the community wants! Evans was one to help push the name change." Screw the community and what they wanted and voted for. Why did you have us vote in the first place, if you didn't give a damn?!
Why are our posts previewed by the editors if this language ^ is permitted?
Glad they changed the name!
Hope you donate lots of cash to help pay for your opinion! Check out the link on the fcps website!
Middle finger to the will of the people once again. This is how you got Trump, this why you'll get Gillespie, this is why you'll get Trump again.
Why not "Social Justice" high school and changing mascot to the Warriors? Or why not "No Justice No Peace" high school? Or just full on "Al Sharpton High School"?
Scott Brabrand, you are the communist scum our parents and teachers warned us about.
Superintendent Brabrand JUST took his position a few months ago; this has nearly nothing to do with him.
You're either a bitter know-nothing or an angry troll. Shoo.
HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Seriously? This is what we came up with after spending a MILLION Dollars
There isn't a facepalm emoji big enough to do this thing "justice"
No one has spent a million dollars
Justice WAS one of the names. It was part of the Justice Thurgood Marshall line… In fact, it was the first one… The line read "Justice, Justice Marshall, Justice Thurgood Marshall, Marshall, Thurgood C Marshall, Thurgood Marshall, Thurgood Marshall Justice"
Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Your reasoning is a completely disingenuous stretch. That option was clearly meant to honor Justice Thurgood Marshall, who meant so much to the civil rights movement. It is because of Justice Marshall that we have many of the liberties we do today. To drop his name and call it "Justice High School" — when the choice was clearly meant to be about Justice Marshall and not about the abstract concept of justice — takes away from this honor for Justice Marshall and spits in his face. People who voted for this option voted for Justice Marshall, not for a random politically correct name that does nothing to honor the man.
FOR ALL THOSE WHO HAVE GRADUATED FROM J.E.B. STUART H.S. We would all like to have our DIPLOMA reissued with the new name and don't use our tax payers dollar to do this…please.
A bit messy? The whole process has been whatever they want from the very beginning – process and rules be damned.
Note that the anti-change comments are all anonymous…perhaps from the same person who won't show his/her face???
what nerve in that post. do you not realize that "anti change" comments, as you say, which appear opposed to "social justice" are routinely demonized? im sure you think we're all racists so i dont care what your opinion is– yet i wont seek to shut down your speech with physical violence which folks on your side openly promote these days, hence the need for anonymity. one can't express views supporting traditional marriage or even traditional definitions of male and female anymore without being declared a bigot and threatened with losing his/her job or right not to be beaten. even if its the opinion of the majority, like this situation. and god (oops there i go again) help you if you are a skeptic of climate change. epa secretary pruitt requires a record number of security personnel due to the record number of death threats to him and his family. so congratulations for being such a hero with your courageous display.
Pruitt's not just about climate change DENIAL–he's about destroying the environment, undoing all the positive change that's been brought about by years of hard work by both parties, and exposing anyone and everyone to the toxic fallout and barren planet brought by the corporations and lobbyists who pull his strings.
I've seen this sort of thing before, in the form of James Watt, and can tell you this guy makes him look like a saint.
Creating an account and not being anonymous DOESNT require you to use your real name. There are plenty of people that comment here with aliases if you're so afraid of physical violence, it's not that hard.
Thanks, Mr. Helper!
Anytime, anonymous!
3:49 says a politician is facing death threats for policy decisions. 10:39 responds by bashing those policy decisions. Quite telling …
What will the mascot be?
How about "The Justice Litigators"? The mascot will be a guy in a three piece suit carrying a briefcase. – Sparky
On some level – this all bothers me. I live in the "Justice" High School district and have elementary school age kids. My husband have discussed at length the quality of the school and although we love our neighbors and location, we wish we had chosen a different pyramid. We had hoped that the school would improve – we lived here long before having kids and figured the county would focus on all of Stuart/Justice's issues. We spoke with our friends who have taught in the County. And every year it was – don't send your kids there. So from my perspective – change the name to whatever makes you feel better (about what I am not sure) – you should be more embarrassed that in the 12 years I have lived in this area – and apparently for several more years than that – you have not bettered the school. Its gang activity, the poor scores, the disgruntled teachers, the administration, etc. Instead you slapped some lipstick on a pig and called it a day. But, as I said we have watched and waited (hoped) that the school would improve and this has shown that the Board does not care about quality or improving things.
To the point — to a very good point. Distract folks from the real problems and the Board can continue to play in the sandbox without needing to clean up their mess. Going forward, I intend to vote against every school bond and Board incumbent. I am not a Trump supporter, but it's just this kind of disregard for the community that gets him votes
You make some great points. I completely agree with you. This is lipstick on a pig to avoid actually doing anything to improve the school.
I have already started voting against all school bonds and Sandy Evans will never get my vote ever again. I made a huge mistake in the past voting for her but I will take care of that in the future. Sandy you need to retire before you embarass yourself.
Justice HS sounds like a penal institution for teenagers. Clearly another name would have been a better choice. I am on the fence on this entire issue. I do believe its a bit of an problem, but are we going to change Jefferson High because Jefferson had slaves? And what about Mason District. The masons were known for their bigotry. Perhaps we should just create one new name for the entire district to include all HSs: Moron District. FCPS has no money and yet they are spending all these funds on a name change, irresponsible when you can use these funds for nigher priorities. Fairfax clean up your financial house first, stop hitting the tax payers w stupid spending opportunities. Make the County whole and then we can discuss some of these non-discretionary spending ideas.
Hear hear, Anonymous 4:39pm!
Washington and Jefferson may have been slave owners, but they were first and foremost nation builders. I find it odd that our country is one of the few places that permits the leaders of a failed rebellion to be lionized. The Lost Cause myth was created to repudiate the results of the Great Rebellion and, to this day, serves as a potent symbol of resistance to equality and social progress. I couldn't care less if someone's great, great grandfather fought for the Confederacy. All that matters is that he was defeated. – Sparky
Our family–which includes three future Justice students–is thrilled with the decision. Thank you for having the moral courage to do this.
Justice High School? Where is the justice? The community was invited to come not only to express their thoughts,but to also vote on the name.The community came out on a Saturday
to the school to vote on the name which "they" would like it to be named.What was that invitation for when the majority opinion really did'nt mean anything ?The community majority voted that the school be renamed Stuart High School.This choice would have cut the cost of totally having to change out everything and eliminating the reference to the confederate general J.E.B Stuart.Where is the justice? It didn't mean anything what the community wanted.At least name the school after someone -but justice? There was no justice in the boards decision.Sad. A Stuart Alumni
This is the stupidest thing I have seen in this whole process. "Justice" High School? Ridiculous. The school board has shown once again it is just simply trying to appease a demographic. They want to offend no one and instead, they offend everyone. I thought the name change was stupid and unnecessary. As another person posted, this is just a distraction to avoid seeing the many issues with this school. But if they were going to change the name, why not just go with Justice Thurgood Marshall — honor a great American who lived in the neighborhood and was a civil rights leader. Instead, not wanting to offend anyone, they water down the honor, taking away from Justice Marshall's legacy by not using his full name, just to use a random word that does not honor anyone. Might as well name it "Politically Correct High School" or "Pandering High School" because that is all this is. School board should be ashamed of itself.
All the other schools will laugh at us! This is a ridiculous name.
I heard on a radio program that there is a school board recall effort in the works. Does anyone have more info?
Oh I so hope.Why bother to ask people to come out to vote for a name if they had no intentions of going with what the community wanted? This issue needs a re-do.This was like well,ok there's nothing else left and it's getting late,lets go with this name.This is all they could come up with after all that?
the school board completely ignored the Will of the People and thier vote! A huge $1 million waste of money. A denial of history. Recent Fairfax history and Virginia history. An example of political corrrectness run amuck!
I suggest we, the voters recall Karen Keys-Gamarra for her vote on this. I can't believe she voted this way!
recall Sandy Evans!
Forget about it. In order to make a recall stick, there has to be evidence of neglect of duty and/or misuse of office and/or incompetence. See Virginia Code sec. 24.2-233. Among other things, the recall procedure require a Commonwealth's attorney to convince a circuit court that one of the aforementioned criteria applies. The first two criteria clearly don't apply. That leaves "incompetence" which requires more than a claim that the school board has done something that some of the electorate disagree with. Although there's going to be disagreement on this point, that's not the case here. So, if you're like me, your best strategy is to oppose the school board incumbents at election time. – Sparky
Let's hope people remember. This current school board crop isn't up for re-election until 2019. But, that's plenty if time to recruit candidates to oppose the incumbents. I'm especially hopeful that a good candidate will be found to go after Sandy Evans.
I doubt it. The reason that the Dems have a hammerlock on most local offices in Fairfax is because voters approve of what they're doing. This includes the school board's social activism. Personally, I'm pleased to see them mop up some of the Confederate iconography that's littering our landscape. It's rubbish that has been appropriated by all manner of political actors for their own nefarious purposes for too long and needs to go. Where the school board comes up short, however, is in its insistence on crying wolf whenever the BOS reduces one of its predictably bloated and unrealistic budget proposals. As indicated by the results of the Meals Tax referendum, this annual Chicken Little routine isn't gaining any traction. So, it's time for these guys to stop making their tiresome predictions about the public schools collapsing and start managing their generous budget in a businesslike manner. – Sparky
Maybe Sandy Evans will surprise us and exercise a modicum of good judgment (for a change) and do us all a favor and resign!
The name Justice High School sounds like something out of an 1980's teen movie. Like'… I go to Justice High Ok?. LOL If they are not going to go with something the community wanted it should at least be rethought out and named for a person like most schools are.
Wrong. At least half of the schools in Fairfax County are given names that describe their location. Of those that are named after people, the large majority of them are not named after people known to have fought against the nation–i.e., there's no Benedict Arnold Secondary School, no Timothy McVeigh Middle, and no Julius Rosenberg Elementary–and you can bet there never will be. Thank god.
Very pleased with the decision. Overdue to stop honoring those who took up arms against their nation–especially in the name of racial superiority. I know too many JEB graduates who head off to college embarrassed by the vestige of the Old South on their diplomas–and that's not modern political correctness; I've heard that from this year's grads, and from grads of decades past.
This Is unreal. I was in the car and heard that the county is soliciting donations to cover the anticipated $1,000,000 cost to change the name. How can the largest school system not have already set money aside for this? Does anyone else think this is beyond ridiculous at this point?
https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2017/11/fairfax-co-pleads-money-help-fund-j-e-b-stuart-name-change/
I just saw that they are putting hat in hand and begging for money for the estimated $1,000,000 it will cost to change the name! That is crazy. Honestly it is laughable. The county wanted it – they should have the money to implement it. It was their idea after all. Could it be that spending $1,000,000 to change a name is not the wisest of resources.