Shenandoah County Public Schools

600 North Main StreetWoodstock, Virginia 22664

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Published – June 11, 2024

Community members expressed outrage after Shenandoah County Public Schools (SCPS) reversed a decision to remove Confederate names from two school buildings.

Virginia Mercury reported on May 20, 2024, “[SCPS] reversed a 2020 decision by a previous board to rebrand two schools previously named after Confederate Generals Turner Ashby, Robert E. Lee, and Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson. In 2021, the schools on the division’s ‘southern campus’ that included North Fork Middle were renamed from Stonewall Jackson High School to Mountain View, and Ashby-Lee Elementary School to Honey Run.”

Virginia Mercury continued, “To some, the Confederacy represents a heritage of Southerners’ courage against the federal Union and fighting for the rights of southern states. Others view the Confederacy as defenders of slavery and a foundational aspect of America’s history of racism.”

On May 10, 2024, school board members listened to over three hours of public comments, including speeches from nine students. The majority were against reversing the decision, including two-thirds of the student speakers.

During the same board meeting on December 20, 2020, the North Fork Middle School Renaming Committee also made a final recommendation to change the mascot from “Generals” to “Rattlers.” By February 2021, Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby-Lee Elementary School were changed, but a community survey showed a nearly 90 percent response in favor of Generals, according to WHSV3 News.

The fight over name changes ensued for several years. In 2022, WMRA News said, “The board voted three to three … ending in a tie and defeating the push to rename Mountain View High School and Honey Run Elementary School to their former names … The schools were renamed in 2020 after [George Floyd’s death].”

WAVY 10 News announced the name change reversal on May 10, 2024, with “yes” votes reportedly coming from Board Chairman Dennis Barlow, Thomas Streett, Gloria Carlineo, Brandi Rutz, and Michael Rickard. Board Vice President Kyle Gutshall voted against reinstating the old names. Streett — who allegedly called the name change a “knee-jerk reaction” — was quoted directly, stating, “It was not done properly. It was done in a secretive [manner] in only nine days.”

The source also said, “The request to change the names back to their previous names came from the Coalition for Better Schools, which asked the board to do so to remember the county’s Civil War history, and that the board in 2020 made the decision to change names hastily.”

At the height of racial tensions in 2020, SCPS passed a resolution aimed at condemning racism and affirming a new inclusive learning environment (see below).