2 Falls Church Schools Eyed For Renaming Consideration

FALLS CHURCH, VA — The Falls Church School Board is kicking off a process to consider renaming two schools named for slave-owning Founding Fathers: Thomas Jefferson Elementary and George Mason High School.

The public provided over 120 comments on the issue over three meetings. School Board Chair Greg Anderson acknowledged there were a variety of opinions to factor in, including that Founding Fathers should be treated differently than Confederate figures like Robert E. Lee and J.E.B. Stuart. Neighboring Fairfax County Public Schools renamed J.E.B. Stuart High School to Justice High School in the 2018-19 school year, and the School Board started a process to rename Robert E. Lee High School.

"Some are concerned about the financial impacts of a name change, and some are considering the entire issue a distraction from more important work," said Anderson. "While others have said that they feel like a name change isn't enough and that it would detract from more meaningful change. So there's a lot to consider."

There were questions about whether the renaming could be timed with the opening of the new George Mason High School. Anderson said the new building is on schedule and budget to open in December.

Superintendent Peter Noonan said much of the school will be branded with colors and the mascot mustangs. The two places where George Mason High School would appear is on the front exterior and inside the main entrance. Noonan said it would be ideal to know the name of the school when the ribbon cutting occurs.

Voting on the process forward will happen on July 14. That could include hiring a third-party consultant to gather public feedback over several months.