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Richmond School Board approves public comment period to rename J.E.B. Stuart Elementary

Posted at 7:51 PM, Apr 09, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-09 23:14:21-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- The Richmond School Board voted Monday to move forward with a 30-day public comment period 'with intent' to rename J.E.B. Stuart Elementary School.

School leaders voted 8-1, with School Board member Jonathan Young as the only vote against the move.

There will be at least two public hearings to allow for the community to propose names for the school, in coordination with RPS policy.

Those dates have not been released at this time.

“All names suggested at the public hearing, along with the reasons for the recommendation, shall be reduced to writing and considered by the School Board. Recommendations received after the close of the public comment period or which do not provide supporting documentation will not be considered by the School Board,” according to Richmond School Board policy.

J.E.B. Stuart Elementary School, located at 3101 Fendall Avenue, was named for the Confederate cavalry leader, General James Ewell Brown Stuart.

About 95 percent of the students are black.

In the past, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and Superintendent Jason Kamras said they were in favor of changing the name of the school.

Kamras suggested renaming the school after Richmond-based civil rights attorney Oliver Hill.

Stuart is the only Confederate-named school in the City of Richmond.

Monday’s decision comes after Petersburg decided to rename three confederate-named schools earlier this year.

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