PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Portsmouth School Board on Thursday voted to change the names of three of its schools.
School names that have been up for debate over the last few months are Woodrow Wilson High School, James Hurst Elementary School, and John Tyler Elementary School.
Those schools are all named after men with ties to segregation and slavery.
“It’s all about righting the wrongs and recognize that legacy is not in a name,” said board member Lakeesha Atkinson. “It is in a person.”
The Portsmouth School Board held two public hearings as well as allowed input from the community. Then at its meeting on Thursday, it voted 8-1 to rename Woodrow Wilson High School to Manor High School, James Hurst Elementary to Cradock Elementary, and John Tyler Elementary to Waterview Elementary.
The naming committee opted against branding the school after another person and instead chose the honor the areas where the schools are located.
“Years ago Portsmouth stopped the practice of naming schools after citizens to avoid controversy,” said board member Costella Williams. “Schools in the city are now named after neighborhoods of communities.”
In the case of Manor High, it's not an entirely new name; Woodrow Wilson High was originally named Manor High before it was consolidated with two other high schools in 1993.
Board member Sarah Hinds voiced concerns about the cost of the changes and how the district planned to finance. It will cost the district an estimated $423,000 to rename Woodrow Wilson High and $10,000 each for the elementary schools, according to the board Thursday night.
“What else are we going to have to cut to get that done?” asked Hinds.
“Let’s look at history,” said Atkinson. “If we focused on cost and finances, we still would be in slavery and schools would have never been integrated.”
Board Chairman Claude Parent said he has confidence in the administration’s ability to devise a plan, and that the administration will do so in the next budget cycle.
Rev. Cardell Patillo, the board vice chairman, emphasized that this expense would be a one-time commitment and payment could be phased out, if the administration chooses.
Board member Ted Lamb was the lone nay vote.
Throughout the rest of the school year, school maintenance and operations will be in the schools to make the needed updates to the buildings, including signage and painting.
The changes will take place beginning on July 1, 2021.
Graduating seniors, the class of 2021, will graduate from Woodrow Wilson High School, and rising seniors, the class of 2022, will be able to choose the name for his or her diploma between Wilson and Manor High.