YORK — The York County School Board voted to not rename Magruder Elementary School following community debate and a survey that saw opposition to the change.
The board voted 3 to 1 at its meeting on Monday, with Mark J. Shafer in support of the renaming. Board member Lynda J. Fairman was not in attendance during the meeting. The vote followed months of discussion after a grassroots organization pushed for the division to rename the school.
The controversy stemmed from the name’s connection to Confederate Gen. John Bankhead Magruder, who captured and killed runaway slaves during the start of the Civil War and ordered the 1861 burning of Hampton. While the school may have been named after the village of Magruder, a former Black community displaced by the creation of Camp Peary in World War II, the name is likely to have come from the general.
A survey done by the school division — sent internally and posted online for the community — showed that the majority of respondents were not in favor of the name change.
The school board took public comments prior to Monday’s vote. Resident Pam Pouchot, referring to Magruder as a traitor to the United States, said the survey lacked explanation of who he was and how the school was named.
“I would be surprised if you chose to consider the feelings of the Black community and do what is right, because it is the right thing to do and not just because it is popular,” Pouchot said. “Bigotry or inclusion. That is your choice.”
Sam Ray, co-chair of the York-James City-Williamsburg NAACP education committee, asked the board to live up to the school division’s values. He noted the division’s slogan to ensure their students are valued, supported and challenged through learning experiences to prepare them for a successful future.
“How do we say every student is valued when we ask Black children to attend a school named after a confederate general?” Ray said. “How can we say that they are supported when their school identity is tied to a legacy of oppression?”
Shafer, who represents District 1 where the school resides, said the renaming topic came up more than six years ago, when the board discussed schools being named after places as opposed to people. The rediscovered history changes things, he said.
“It has changed from a place to a person,” Shafer said. “And we don’t name schools for people in York County.”
James W. Robinson, 757-799-0621, james.robinson@virginiamedia.com