Students select ‘Wolves’ as Justice High School mascot
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| Stuart alum Bruce Cohen (left) and Stuart parent Tim Beres were among the significant donors at a benefit to raise funds for changing the name of JEB Stuart High School to Justice High School. [Debbie Ratliff] |
While the Annandale Blog was on a break Jan. 2-22, here’s something we missed:
Students at JEB Stuart High School and eighth-graders at Glasgow Middle School have selected “Wolves” as the new mascot when the school’s name is officially changed to Justice High School on July 1, Fairfax County Public Schools announced Jan. 17. The school board voted Oct. 26 to rename the school.
Students are working on a new logo to represent the Wolves mascot. School administrators oversaw several rounds of voting, gradually narrowing the student-nominated selections to their top two choices: the Justice Jayhawks and the Justice Wolves. More than 1,000 students participated in the final selection.
“I am excited to see students are engaged in the transformation of their school,” said Superintendent Scott Brabrand. “J.E.B. Stuart High has been flourishing under the current school staff, students, and parents, including achieving full state accreditation. This school and community will ensure that the first class of ‘Wolves’ at Justice High School are role models for future generations.”
The Wolves will replace the current mascot, the Raiders, which features the silhouette of Confederate General JEB Stuart on horseback carrying a flag. Until the 1980s, before the image was changed to a silhouette, the logo included the Confederate flag in full color.
At the direction of the school board, FCPS has been collecting donations to defray the costs of the name change, which FCPS has estimated would be $428,400. Donations can be made online.
To date, citizen-led efforts have generated more than $43,200 in donations. A fundraising event at the home of Alison and Shane Oleson earlier this month netted $22,900, reports Debbie Ratliff, a Stuart parent and name change activist.
Among those in attendance, along with many parents and students, were Stuart Principal Penny Gros; school board member Sandy Evans (Mason District); Academy Award-winning movie producer Bruce Cohen (Stuart Class of 1979); his father George Cohen, a long-time Lake Barcroft resident; and state Sen. Dick Saslaw.
The $22,900 raised at the benefit “exceeded expectations,” said Ratliff, who noted, “This level of financial support to fund the name change demonstrates yet again the broad community support for Justice High School and the fight for equity and equality in public schools that the name change represents.”
The cost of a name change could end up being lower than the FCPS estimate, as the implementation plan submitted to Brabrand by staff in December, states “additional savings should be realized through the bid process.”
An analysis by George Waters, the parent of a Stuart graduate, indicates that the final cost is likely to be much lower. In a Jan. 24 letter to Stuart PTSA President Jodi Callahan, Waters says he researched the likely cost of new uniforms and found the $428,000 figure projected by FCPS is “profoundly inflated.”
The FCPS estimate, for example, says new marching band uniforms for 100 students would cost $40,000. Waters notes that there are less than 50 students in the band, and that the entire uniform wouldn’t have to be replaced. He estimates the cost at just $22,000.
To be precise, that is not what my letter to Jodi Callahan says and I apologize in advance if Ms. Callahan is seeing reference to the letter here before reading it herself. I should have waited longer before sharing with Ellie. Anyway, it is FCPS that says the cost of an entire band uniform (all three pieces) is $450. So, $450 x 50 kids in the band = $22,500, whereas the revised FCPS figure for band uniforms is $40,000. If only the jacket were replaced (arguably all that is needed) the costs would be about $10,000.
Without having read your letter, I think what's written above and what you're saying are essentially the same, you're just providing additional detail. Also, did you really give your letter to a journalist thinking it wouldn't get turned into a blog post?
Pitiful. More money was raised to pay for JEB's turf field.
What is pitiful about a great start with donations from individuals at the START OF THE fundraising? Seems likely that a lot more funds will be raised later in the year from corporate donors and more private sources too.
At the current rate of fundraising, the sports uniforms can be purchased sometime in late 2019–only a year or so too late!
Funding for the Stuart/Justice HS name change comes from two sources: the FCPS School Board flexibility reserve and private donations. https://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/ATUKHH51F153/$file/Implementation%20Plan%20One%20Page%20Business%20Case.pdf
The School Board authorized the Superintendent to access two lump sums to fund all name change costs for Stuart/Justice HS, reduced by future private donations: up to $267,741 from the FY 2018 flexibility reserve and $160,671 from the FY 2019 flexibility reserve. These numbers are based on the current $428,412 estimated name change cost per the Superintendent’s December 11, 2017 report to the School Board.
What is the School Board flexibility reserve?
Per the FCPS FY 17 proposed budget “FCPS has three reserves in the School Operating Fund: a textbook replacement reserve, future year beginning balance reserve, and a School Board flexibility reserve. The School Board flexibility reserve is committed to meet unforeseen circumstances. Any unused portion is carried forward to the next fiscal year with the School Board approval. The flexibility reserve is only reflected in the current year’s Revised Budget and is not included in the proposed, advertised, or approved budget totals. As part of the FY 2015 Final Budget Review, $8.0 million was carried over in the School Board Flexibility Reserve for FY 2016.”
http://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY17ProposedBudget.pdf
FCPS estimates state that the name change costs will be $428,412, and it is expected that the final total cost will be much closer to half that, or $200,000, for two reasons: other US high schools have reported name change costs at $150,000 to $200,000; and, per Superintendent Braband, competitive bidding for uniform costs, which are the lion’s share of the total $428,412 need, will result in lower prices for all uniforms.
Private Donations.
The resolution to change the school’s name and the Superintendent’s subsequent report both state that private donations are expected to also fund name change costs for the high school. The FCPS online portal for donations allows private donors to choose the program or area they wish to support and also includes a running total of the private donations to date: https://www.fcps.edu/justice
In the past three months, more than $43,000 has been privately raised to offset the cost of the name change. Additional private as well as corporate fundraising is underway.
Thanks to everyone for their support!
Thank you for providing more information. It's not only helpful, but also a pleasant respite from some of the comments we see here that are more snark than anything else. Truly, I appreciate it, and will be making a donation in the near future.