Name change resources and opportunities opened to the public

Megan Clinton, Harshini Velmurugan, and Ella Gilmore
October 19, 2020

george mason high school building
The current George Mason High School building. Some community members have expressed concern over naming FCCPS schools after people who were slaveholders. The school board has opened multiple opportunities for the public to express their opinion including a survey and taking registrations for public comment. (Photo by Sam Mostow)

The Falls Church City School Board opened up a survey for students, parents, staff, and other members of the community to express their opinions on whether or not George Mason High School and Thomas Jefferson Elementary school should be renamed. 

The survey will be open from October 14 through October 28. Students and other members of the community can fill out this survey so that their voices can be heard. A company called K12 insight is conducting the survey. After the survey closes, K12 insight will analyze the results and report them back to the School Board. 

The survey is not the only way for your voice to be heard on the issue. The School Board will have eight hours of public commentary, over two days where students, staff, alumni, and residents are welcome to speak. Students and community members who wish to speak must register before October 20. 

The public comment periods will be no longer than 4 hours long on each of the two days. People who are speaking will be limited to no more than three minutes as a lot of comments are expected.  It is important to note that the first 10 speaker slots each night are reserved for FCCPS students to be able to share their opinions. Members of the community can also submit written comments to [email protected].

Before weighing in on this substantial decision for the Falls Church community through the survey, students and members of the community can look at the resources provided on the Falls Church City Public Schools website. 

infographic on school name costs
FCCPS has released information on cost estimates for the renaming of the schools. Here is the breakdown of the costs. (Infographic by Ella Gilmore)

The website includes information regarding the cost of changing the schools name as well as policies and regulations regarding the name changes are available there. Due to the construction of the new George Mason High School, there is an incentive for the decision to be made soon, as it would be more economical. The major cost of changing the name of the school would then be to replace athletic uniforms and equipment.

Historical information on Thomas Jefferson and George Mason schools are also included on the website to help students and community members come to well-informed opinions.

The results of the survey will be presented to the School Board on November 13, and the final vote on whether to change the names of the schools is scheduled tentatively for December 8.

Read more Lasso coverage on the school names here.