Hanover County School Board to Decide Fate of School Names and Mascots – Community Says Leave Them Alone

In the months since we first alerted you of the attempt by a small group of agitators to change the name of Lee-Davis High School and Stonewall Jackson Middle School in Hanover County, Virginia, much has transpired. News of the possible name change spread quickly through Hanover County and the reaction by citizens was swift and decidedly AGAINST any changes.  As of this writing, the petition to change the names has 2349 signatures, and the petition to keep the names the same has almost 8,000 signatures.  You can access the petition here if you have not already signed it:  https://www.change.org/p/keep-lee-davis-high-school-and-stonewall-jackson-middle-school-name-as-it-is After several meetings where citizens spoke out overwhelmingly in favor of leaving the names of the schools and mascots alone, the county set up a survey to gather community feedback. The results were overwhelming.  A clear majority of respondents said the board should keep the names of two schools named after Confederate leaders. At its March 12 School Board meeting, the board, which has the power to change the names, was presented with the results of a survey conducted this year. A total of 76 percent of the 13,374 respondents said Stonewall Jackson Middle School and Lee-Davis High School should keep their names and mascots — the Rebels and Confederates, respectively. Alumni of the two schools are the strongest supporters, according to the survey results, with 85 percent of Lee-Davis and Stonewall Jackson graduates saying the names shouldn’t change. Parents of students at the two schools also showed strong support, at 83 percent. The majority of the school board members have indicated they will vote to keep the names.  “The community has spoken to us – very loud and very clear,” said John Axselle III, who represents the county’s Beaverdam District and a proponent of the names.  Only two members have come out to say they would like to see the names change.  Even so, the school board did not act to silence the agitators, but put the matter off until its April meeting, and we all know that the wishes of the majority have been often ignored.  We need to make sure that we do not take anything for granted.  The meeting is tomorrow night, Tuesday, April 10th. CALL TO ACTION: 1)  Please take a moment to contact each and every school board member before Tuesday afternoon.Thank them for seeking community input. Ask them to respect the wishes of the community and leave the names of both schools AND the mascots as is. Request that they address the issue tomorrow night and finalize the matter once and for all to end the division and unnecessary distraction in our community and our classrooms.(See contact info below) 2)  Make plans to attend the School Board meeting tomorrow night.If you would like to sign up to speak, please contact Kate Brown @ 804-365-5402.  The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m., 200 Berkley Street, Ashland, Va 23005.  We need to pack the room in support of keeping the names.

HANOVER COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD CONTACT INFO: Susan (Sue) P. Dibble, South Anna District - Board Chair Phone: 752-6866; e-mail: SB-sdibble@hcps.us Roger S. Bourassa, Mechanicsville District - Vice Chair Phone: 559-8113; e-mail: SB-rbourassa@hcps.us Marla G. Coleman, Henry District Phone: 746-2650; e-mail: SB-mcoleman@hcps.us Ola Hawkins, Ashland District Phone: 357-3743; e-mail: SB-ohawkins@hcps.us Norman K. Sulser, Cold Harbor District Phone: 746-0331; e-mail: SB-nsulser@hcps.us John F. Axselle III, Beaverdam District Phone: 798-7782; e-mail: SB-jaxselle@hcps.us Robert L. Hundley, Jr., Chickahominy District Work: 550-9222 Home: 730-3415; e-mail: SB-rhundley@hcps.us