An education board in Virginia votes to restore Confederate names to 2 schools

A Virginia schoolhouse committee has voted to reconstruct the names of Confederate subject leaders to a precocious schoolhouse and an simple schoolhouse 4 years aft the names had been removed

WOODSTOCK, Va. -- A Virginia schoolhouse committee voted Friday to reconstruct the names of Confederate subject leaders to a precocious schoolhouse and an simple school, 4 years aft the names had been removed.

Shenandoah County's schoolhouse committee voted 5-1 to rename Mountain View High School arsenic Stonewall Jackson High School, and Honey Run Elementary arsenic Ashby Lee Elementary.

Friday's ballot reverses a determination by the schoolhouse committee successful 2020, a clip erstwhile schoolhouse systems crossed the South were removing Confederate names from schools successful effect to the Black Lives Matter movement.

School committee members who voted to reconstruct the Confederate names said the erstwhile committee ignored fashionable sentiment and owed process erstwhile the names were stripped.

Elections successful 2023 importantly changed the schoolhouse board's makeup.

Board subordinate Gloria Carlineo said during a six-hour gathering that began Thursday nighttime that opponents of the Confederate names should “stop bringing racism and prejudice into everything” due to the fact that it “detracts from existent cases of racism.”

The lone committee subordinate to ballot against restoring the Confederate names, Kyle Gutshall, said helium respects some sides of the statement but believed that a bulk of residents successful his territory wanted to permission the Mountain View and Honey Run names successful place.

“I don't justice anybody oregon look down connected anybody for the determination they're making,” helium said. “It's a analyzable issue.”

Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson was a Confederate wide from Virginia who gained fame astatine the First Battle of Bull Run adjacent Manassas successful 1861 and died successful 1863 aft helium was changeable successful conflict and had his limb amputated. Jackson's sanction was besides removed from different precocious schoolhouse successful Virginia's Prince William County successful 2020 that is present known arsenic Unity Reed High School.

Turner Ashby was a Confederate cavalry serviceman who was killed successful conflict successful 1862 adjacent Harrisonburg, Virginia. A precocious schoolhouse adjacent Harrisonburg is besides named for him. Robert E. Lee was a Virginia autochthonal who commanded Confederate forces.

The solution approved Friday by the schoolhouse committee states that backstage donations volition beryllium utilized to wage for the sanction changes.

Shenandoah County is simply a mostly agrarian jurisdiction with a colonisation of astir 45,000, astir 100 miles westbound of the nation's capital.