WMAL Interview - REP. TOM DAVIS - 07.27.17

INTERVIEW – REP TOM DAVIS — former Virginia congressman, he had children who went to JEB Stuart High

Tom Davis, a Republican, represented J.E.B. Stuart High School for 14 years while serving on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and represented Virginia’s 11th Congressional District in the House from 1995 to 2008. Two of his children attended J.E.B. Stuart High School.

TOPIC:  JEB Stuart vote on Thursday
School Board Votes On J.E.B. Stuart Name Change This Week: FALLS CHURCH, VA—Two years since students at J.E.B. Stuart High School began demanding the Confederate general’s name be removed, the Fairfax County School Board will vote on a name change Thursday. The vote is set, but members still appear divided, the Associated Press reported. The school was named for the Confederate general when it opened in 1959. Some speculate the name was a pointed reaction to desegregation efforts, although it could simply be a way to honor the Confederate military leader.
DAVIS: There’s no ‘compelling need’ to change the name of J.E.B. Stuart High School.  (Washington Post Opinion) – The proposal to change the name of J.E.B. Stuart High School presents the Fairfax County School Board, in fact the entire community and nation, with a teachable moment. The school board adopted Regulation 8170.7 requiring “sufficient support” and “some compelling need” for a school name change. “Sufficient support” is not defined, nor is “compelling need,” but it is clear, through surveys, that the majority of the Stuart community and the student body do not support a name change. Equally important, the J.E.B. Stuart High School’s Parent Teacher Student Association, service clubs and booster clubs have not stepped forward to support a change. The most important fact is that no “compelling need” has been demonstrated