Renaming Consideration Process Set For TJ, George Mason High

FALLS CHURCH, VA — Last week, the Falls Church School Board finalized the process on considering a name change for Thomas Jefferson Elementary and George Mason High School, two schools named for slaveowning Founding Fathers.

There have been mixed comments from the public so far. Some opposed residents pointed to Thomas Jefferson and George Mason's contributions as Founding Fathers, while those who support name changes do not believe the schools should be named for slaveowners.

But the process also brings up the issue of cost. A student opinion piece in the student newspaper The Lasso argued that the community should be surveyed once a cost analysis is released.

"We are currently experiencing a massive economic recession and we don't know how it will affect FCCPS in the long run," the student wrote. "The community deserves to know how much taxpayer money will be spent before making any decisions or having to state their preferences."

The timeline approved by the school board accounts for this. On Oct. 13, the school board will receive cost information on a possible name change. Then, on Oct. 14, K-12 Insights will kick off a two-week survey of all staff and parents all students at Henderson Middle School and George Mason High School, and the community.

Public hearings on Oct. 22 and 29 via Zoom will provide additional opportunities for public comments. The school board will review draft findings of the survey in a Nov. 10 work session, and final survey results will be released on Nov. 13. The school board will have another review session on Nov. 17 and final vote on Dec. 8 on whether to rename the schools.

If the school board votes to rename the schools, a process would follow to determine the new names.

The renaming consideration comes as other local school systems have dropped Confederate names. Fairfax County's J.E.B. Stuart High School was renamed as Justice High School in the 2018-2019 school year. In Springfield, Robert E. Lee High School was renamed John Lewis High School for the 2020-2021 school year. The Fairfax County School Board just voted to rename Mosby Woods Elementary, but a new name has not been decided. Fairfax City's school board is also renaming Sidney Lanier Middle School and collected name suggestions from the public.