It would cost $26,000 to rename Richmond’s lone school named after a Confederate general, according to an estimate from the school system’s administration.
As the Richmond School Board weighs changing the name of J.E.B. Stuart Elementary School, with all signs pointing to that outcome, the panel was presented Monday with its first cost estimate for the endeavor.
The $26,000 cost involves the following: $2,500 for a wooden sign at the front of the school; $2,500 for a new marquee; $4,000 for a bronze plaque; $10,000 for the etched stone facade on the school; $2,000 for rubber mats; $2,000 for stationery, envelopes and business cards, plus $500 for other office supplies; $2,000 for T-shirts with the new name for students and staff; and $500 for a banner.
The vast majority of the nine-member School Board voted last month in favor of starting the process to rename the North Side school, which currently pays tribute to a Confederate cavalry leader while housing a student population that’s more than 95 percent black.
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That process has included two public forums — both held at J.E.B. Stuart — and a public hearing during the board’s meeting Monday night. The two forums drew a sparse crowd, with 16 coming to the first and one person going to the second. Monday night, just one person, Wanda Stallings, spoke. She’s in favor of changing the name.
A vote is expected at the board’s June 18 meeting. Another public forum is scheduled for Tuesday night at Virginia Union University.
As the School Board decides the fate of J.E.B. Stuart, some board members want to look at renaming other schools.
Cheryl Burke of the 7th District has proposed changing the name of George Mason Elementary School in line with the construction of a new East End elementary school, not wanting it to be named after a slave owner.
E.S.H. Greene in the South Side is currently named after a former Chesterfield County Public Schools superintendent, something Linda Owen of the 9th District wants changed. She says the school should be renamed as it’s built anew over the next few years.
Dawn Page, the chairwoman of the School Board, has floated the idea of changing the name of Thomas Jefferson High School, citing the third president’s ownership of slaves.
Asked before the meeting, Page was noncommittal about whether she would support changing the high school’s name, but said she would like the School Board to have that discussion, something Superintendent Jason Kamras has also said.
“We should have that debate and hear from the public,” he said in a May 10 interview. “These are the tough questions we’ve got to ask ourselves.”
School Board member Jonathan Young, who represents the 4th District, was the lone vote in April against declaring the board’s intention to rename J.E.B. Stuart. He said Monday before the meeting that he’s also in opposition to potentially renaming Thomas Jefferson High.
“I can certainly respect how hard and complicated this discussion is because of the awfulness relevant to what some of these men did, but to strip our country of our history and common identity both good and bad would mean us taking down the Washington Monument, removing persons from Mount Rushmore, and failing to teach that we will still strive to become a more perfect union,” he said.
Liz Doerr, who represents Thomas Jefferson on the School Board, said Monday night that she's open to having a discussion about the school's name with the rest of the board.
Like it did with J.E.B. Stuart, the School Board would first have to vote on its intention to rename the school and hold public comment sessions.