Steve Burns
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – (WMAL) After a long, contentious debate over changing the name of J.E.B Stuart High School in Fairfax County, the end could be nearing after both sides of the debate submitted their final reports over the holiday weekend. The debate has torn the community in two as accusations brewed around political misconduct, outside influence, and historical distortion.
Both sides agree that the process could have been laid out a bit more smoothly. After it became clear the two sides could not work together to produce one report, they were split into two subcommittees.
“It definitely was not the smoothest type of committee work,” Denise Patton, a “Keep the Name” Committee member, told WMAL. “Everybody was so polarized…it just fell apart. It was very difficult.”
George Alber, a “Change the Name” member who is also a part of the Fairfax branch of the NAACP, agreed.
“We, in Fairfax County, could’ve done a more thoughtful, expert consideration of this, rather than just pitting people who were already adversarial about it,” Alber told WMAL.
But that is where the agreements end. Patton had strong words for the NAACP, calling its activists “outsiders” who subverted the community process. She also is requesting two School Board members, Chairwoman Sandy Evans and Pat Hynes, to recuse themselves. Patton believes the two advocated for and coordinated the campaign to change the name, violating the non-partisan nature of the office, as shown in thousands of emails received through a Freedom of Information Act request.
“The Code of Conduct for the School Board is very specific in its conflict of interest clause, ” Patton said. “The board members are not to advance any personal or special interest.”
Alber denied that board members he met with performed any advocacy or coordination for the effort, but instead were just there to listen. Evans, in a statement to WMAL, echoed those sentiments.
“I have talked with and corresponded with hundreds of constituents and advocates over the course of the last two years about this issue, listening to a wide variety of viewpoints. That is part of being a School Board member,” Evans’ statement read. “I continue to hope that our conversation on this emotional topic will remain civil and focused on the important question at hand, and not descend into name-calling and spurious allegations.”
Alber also countered Patton’s “outsider” claims, noting the Fairfax County branch of the NAACP has been active for over a century.
Patton said the school has other pressing needs where money should be going, like pest control, textbooks, and protecting its low-income student population, rather than spending money on a name change.
The core disagreement, however, remains: Patton believes Stuart was “a brilliant leader…and a nice man,” who fought for his native Virginia against northern oppression. Alber, however, believes Stuart’s legacy is indelibly intertwined with that of the Confederacy: slavery, white supremacy, and racism.
“When you fought for Virginia, you were fighting for the Confederacy, and its values,” Alber said. “There is a place in history for all that, but there’s a difference between history, and reverence and commemoration.”
Patton, a former history teacher, called the history coming out of the “change” side “distorted”.
“What my group would like to see happen, is that you broaden that educational landscape,” she said. “The issues that are being advanced to promote a name change are twisting history.”
The School Board has scheduled a final vote for June 22.
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