Submitted by Charlesinrichmond t3_z2pchs in rva
Comments
opienandm t1_ixhr0z6 wrote
Imagine you are a black child and you are attending John B Cary Elementary school. At some point, you’re going to learn about google and find out that you are going to a school named in honor of a guy who was an enslaver and one of the architects of the Lost Cause.
Then, off to middle school. Same shit, different location. You’re now attending a school named in honor of James H. Binford, who was a Captain in the Confederate army and served in a division of howitzers which were used to fight to preserve slavery.
$150k isn’t chump change and it could buy a bunch of supplies in the short term. However, renaming the schools sends a clear message that our schools will not honor those who fought to preserve slavery. I think that has much more significant long-term impact on the students, teachers, and families.
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixi9sm1 wrote
Why not just find another cary to name it after
billion_billion t1_ixiwz2u wrote
Washington & Lee HS in Arlington kinda took this approach. It’s now Washington & Liberty, which allowed them to change the name and keep a lot of the W&L branding
Edit: corrected re-name
burdell69 t1_ixjdsit wrote
It's actually Washington-Liberty now, even though I think Loving would have been a better name.
billion_billion t1_ixje026 wrote
Ah that’s right, Loving was just a proposed name.
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixkcc3o wrote
that's the way to do it.
opienandm t1_ixig81w wrote
I’d be fine with that. Even better, not a person.
Chrahhh t1_ixi2anr wrote
Also sends a message that image matters more than substance and results. Won’t keep teachers around and won’t brighten students.
handle2345 t1_ixiz864 wrote
Symbolism and messaging matter. It's not a zero-sum game
Chrahhh t1_ixj6rqz wrote
No… educating children and giving teachers the resources to do it well matter. That is all.
breakup_letter t1_ixikohx wrote
This should be the top comment.
SwanOverSunshine t1_ixi8zbj wrote
Also, these schools weren’t named because they fought in the Confederate army. They’re named because of what they did in Richmond and for the Richmond school system. Disagree with spending money on this.
[deleted] t1_ixiaoas wrote
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SwanOverSunshine t1_ixibwns wrote
Exactly, Binford and Cary were Richmond school superintendents, and did a lot of good for schools in Richmond. People are complex, and can do good and bad things in their lives. I’m really sick of this current puritanical black and white thinking about complex situations.
Prestigious_Laugh300 t1_ixhlsel wrote
>The three board members who voted against the name changes cited the cost, which can range from $25,000 to $50,000 per school.
Here's the real question. How is it this high? Is it just repainting some stuff and a sign by the road? Can we not just repaint with a new school name the next time things need routine repainting? And find a sign less grand for the road?
BurkeyTurger t1_ixhn42g wrote
If it's anything like the Brightpoint(dumbest fucking name btw) renaming you have school branded shit everywhere that they have to change.
All the letterhead, signs, promotional materials, website, apparel, etc. have to be switched over and can add up quickly.
Brightpoint for example is still using furniture that has the John Tyler seal on it because they either didn't budget for replacing it too or just don't care.
setsails t1_ixi4nlb wrote
Don’t forget legal and compliance shockwaves
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixhnssg wrote
I have to disagree with you I think it's 99.99% of people don't know they are Confederates
And wasn't ginter a gay man?
goosey65 t1_ixi20pt wrote
Okay but they still were Confederates. Just because you can’t name every Nazi doesn’t mean they weren’t ones. Also, what does him maybe having been a gay man have to do with anything ?
There is never going to be a great time to spend this money but as someone pointed out earlier, it breakdowns to very little money per student. Maybe like Karmas suggested, spread out the renaming throughout the years.
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixkbu8g wrote
so rename them. I'm fine with the not honoring confederates. But can't we find one Cary out there who was a good guy? How about John Cary the mapmaker? Let's just rename Cary after him. Yes, I'm serious. And was Ginter really that bad? (serious question, I though he wasn't, but I'm a yankee, I don't know)
It's always "pennies a day". but how many textbooks would that money buy in a system that needs them?
Sage_Advice420 t1_ixi29lp wrote
Fuck confederates. All non-conscripted traitors should have been executed for treason after the war. Instead, they got to take their shitty belief systems home with them, and a few hundred years later, here we are.
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixkbyrw wrote
mmm. speaking as a yankee, it was done poorly, but for a reason. Could have been done better. But death camps are NEVER the solution. Leave that shit to the Gestapo
raindeerpie t1_ixk5x9u wrote
that would have been devastating to the country.
Sage_Advice420 t1_ixk9x9h wrote
Cause the path they chose led to a goddamn utopia
raindeerpie t1_ixkbmzd wrote
i mean.. yeah. it did. we are the greatest and most powerful country in the world. things are pretty fucking awesome for us. eliminating the entire population of the south after the civil war would have devastated the country. we had huge farming and metal working industries.
Sage_Advice420 t1_ixkfjwx wrote
We are far from the greatest country in the world. Our politicians fight over how much money to take away from public services. We have more empty houses than unhoused people. We throw out literally as much food as we consume, yet children go hungry and schools take away free lunches because "socialism".
And who rails against "socialism"? The same ones who fly confederate flags and say "The South will rise again!" unironically. The same people who committed treason in the Civil War had kids who had kids who had kids who had kids who.... committed sedition and tried to overthrow the government because they couldn't accept the fact that their guy lost. Because losing is such an ingrained cultural pain to them, they HAVE to lose constantly so they can feel something. And this often boils over into racially motivated violence, politically motivated violence, sexually motivated violence,.. all because the core values of the confederacy were never burned away. They were planted, nurtured, fertilized, and its getting pretty ripe with fruit nowadays..
raindeerpie t1_ixsfadm wrote
man. you have a real hate boner. even if all those things were even half as bad as you pretend they are we are still doing better than most countries in the world. go live in literally any other country for a few weeks and tell me its so bad here.
Sage_Advice420 t1_ixt0nn4 wrote
I would LOVE to live in Japan or Sweden or Poland or Peru or Cuba or Vietnam or Kenya or The Somoan Islands for a few weeks! Public transportation, good infrastructure, universal Healthcare, effectice firearm safety laws, free university, and open borders. Sounds fuckin awesome, mate
raindeerpie t1_ixxxkw4 wrote
oh how naive you are.
Sage_Advice420 t1_ixyggae wrote
America was never great. It was founded by slavers.
raindeerpie t1_iy3n62b wrote
not sure that's entirely accurate. but we definitely went along with the slave trade and made it a pretty integral part of our survival and culture for a while. but so did many many many other countries throughout time. some still do it. At least we got rid of it pretty quickly.
Sage_Advice420 t1_iy3wudc wrote
Literally every founding father owned enslaved people.
And 400 years is a very long time. Your answer reflects very privileged, undereducated, and whitewashed exposure to Western History and its relation to the slave trade
raindeerpie t1_iy3yfv8 wrote
and your answer represents a very small minded view of the world. 400 years is nothing. no countries hands are clean. surviving is hard and the ones who do didn't do it nicely. what matters is that we learned from our mistakes and are better because of it. things we do everyday today might be considered horrific and barbaric crimes in 100 years. I certainty won't judge you for it. just learn from it.
Sage_Advice420 t1_iy3z3zq wrote
You're defending human slavery in America with "well, everyone else did it"
raindeerpie t1_iy40p4k wrote
see you just keep coming back to that. you're not listening to me. i never once defended slavery. it was an awful terrible thing. but it is not who we are as a country now and the crimes of our fathers our not ours to carry. you are just going to torture yourself if all you can see about yourself is what your forefathers did 200 years ago.
Sage_Advice420 t1_iy4a42t wrote
The fuck you mean "it's not who we are as a country now"?
You been in a coma from 2012 until yesterday??
There's 2 groups of people in this country: the first group is opposed to slavery, racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, fascism, and racially motivated vigilantes. The 2nd group supports all of those things.
The 2nd group elected the 45th president. The 2nd group tried to overthrow the government in a violent insurrection that resulted in the murders of 4 cops. The 2nd group has gone in record as wanting to make it illegal to marry someone of the same gender, illegal to marry someone of a different race, illegal to have access to lifesaving healthcare and prenatal care, illegal to read certain books, illegal to TEACH THAT AMERICA WAS BUILT BY RACIST SLAVE OWNERS.
One 1 group would ever deny the historical facts that this country was "discovered" by racist slavers, founded by racist slavers, spent the next few hundred years run by racist slavers and racist deacendants of slavers writing all the laws, and its not the first group of educated, compassionate people.
raindeerpie t1_iy4cg9k wrote
again. you are thinking very small minded. you are only looking at a very small piece of the pie and focusing solely on a very very small minority of people. the vast majority of the people you say are in that 2nd group do not think that way at all. the people you put in group one have killed just as many people in far more violent protests. i suggest you stop looking at social media for your news. come up with your own opinions instead of parroting what you hear on reddit and network news.
Sage_Advice420 t1_iy5dtj7 wrote
Lmao ok snowflake. Let's go Brandon!
dl_crash t1_ixic71h wrote
Have you seen the school budget and expenses do you know that they can't actually afford supplies.
FeeParty5082 t1_ixifahk wrote
Have you ever met a teacher who didn't have to buy a huge portion of their own supplies?
dl_crash t1_ixonp4m wrote
So that's a no, you've never seen a school budget or expenses. If they need crayons why aren't we calling Crayola for a pallet of them? Asking tax payers to pay retail prices to support the school is the worst way to go.
Soloemilia t1_ixj68h1 wrote
Teachers in wealthy well funded districts buy classroom decorations and things like that. RPS does have paper basics like that
ValidGarry t1_ixhi4t0 wrote
I see that in the counties as well. Just because the overall education system is screwed does not mean we should tolerate schools named after confederate soldiers.
parrisjd t1_ixhkp6f wrote
I think at some point you have to look at schools named for people specifically because of their being a Confederate, like Jefferson Davis, vs those named for people for other reasons, like John Cary. Cary, postwar, became superintendent of the Richmond schools who raised teacher salaries and promoted increased funding for the education of black students.
ValidGarry t1_ixhqw6b wrote
It's not my call to make. I just listen and try to support those who believe it is right for their communities and students.
opienandm t1_ixhswcd wrote
John B Cary owned slaves, fought for slavery, and was an architect of the Lost Cause. No school should be named after someone like that even if they lived like a saint after doing those things.
That would be akin to asking the SPCA to name a facility after Michael Vick. In some venues, there should never be a “but look at what he did after…”
goosey65 t1_ixi1enq wrote
Why is this being downvoted ? It’s true!
Chrahhh t1_ixi2ny8 wrote
Owning slaves is horrible in 2022, but it wasn’t (to wealthy landowners who could) in 1860.
goosey65 t1_ixi6vrv wrote
Please, I am begging you to even just read the Wikipedia about American Slavery before writing shit like that. Just because something was “socially acceptable” in certain circles doesn’t make it not horrible. American Slavery was an inhumane, genocidal practice that elevated slavery to unknown level of cruelty and profit.
Chrahhh t1_ixi76k0 wrote
who tf said slavery wasn't horrible? all i said was in 1860 it wasn't widely considered inhumane. the people who lived 150+ years ago don't have our modern moral compass to guide them.
goosey65 t1_ixi7p0p wrote
Large factions of society and the world didn’t agree with it- hence the civil war, the abolitionist movement, the fact that even England stopped participating in the slave trade system years before the USA. It’s a myth that people didn’t know slavery wasn’t a fucked practice. People chose profits over humanity and we don’t have to celebrate that or uphold it.
Chrahhh t1_ixi8km8 wrote
*insert image of me, talking at a wall*
here's a video that might help you understand
semi_colon t1_ixk0mtb wrote
Of course you're really into Bill Maher.
ExpandKnowhow t1_ixhjjro wrote
We should just rename Richmond. I can’t live in a city named after the capital of the confederacy
turnipmeatloaf t1_ixhvs3m wrote
While we’re at it, why not rename Virginia? It was named in honor of the British Queen and colonialism bad
Chrahhh t1_ixi2rwm wrote
And United States of America? Yuck, I can’t live in a country named after a country that supported slavery
RVAringfinder t1_ixiffbb wrote
What's worse is that everywhere we look there is a Virginia battle flag proudly flying.
Mr_Boneman t1_ixiorw1 wrote
Don’t give the mayor any ideas. We’ll be calling it VCU in exchange for a few dollars to his super pac.
Dniceddave14 t1_ixhh9l2 wrote
I rather the money go towards funding for these schools.
upearlyRVA t1_ixhz5dw wrote
It is what it is. IMO, given the state of the schools, the money could be spent more efficiently.
goosey65 t1_ixi5yso wrote
In theory I agree, but $150k really is not much in the scheme of running a school district. It could fund 1-3 positions for a year or run a program for 2ishyears (if the budget was very efficient and staffed by already hired people.) RPS is a multi million dollar system to run. Also the issues facing RPS are not only budget related. The challenges facing school districts incorporate the challenges of where they live. School is not a closed environment. If kids come from food insecure households or lack of access to shelter and stability - that will affect their learning. The issues facing RPS reflect the issues facing our city, state, and country. A one time use of $150k isn’t going to change that.
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixi9y5x wrote
The superintendent who knows something about running schools clearly thinks it's not a great idea...
goosey65 t1_ixia5dl wrote
He agrees with it- he just thinks it should be two a year…
“Superintendent Jason Kamras initially urged the board not to take on more than two schools in any given year because of the time, energy and cost involved, but eventually said he could be persuaded to change three.”
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixkc3kh wrote
and this is 3? So he disagrees by definition?
goosey65 t1_ixiusl5 wrote
Also, here is a follow up when Kamras talks about his excitement to rename the schools.
"I'm excited to go ahead and take the step," Kamras said in an interview Tuesday. "That will mean the end of schools named after Confederate soldiers in the City of Richmond, and that's a very exciting thing."
teh_german t1_ixirz2x wrote
My S.O. worked at Binford, she has so many sad stories about these kids.
It still boggles my mind that kids are forced to pay for lunch at a public school. Hell increase my taxes to offset lunch costs for all children in Richmond.
Soloemilia t1_ixivph0 wrote
Pay for lunch? No kid in Richmond has paid for lunch in YEARS.
winkerGOD t1_ixhqvrp wrote
Renaming shit has to be the dumbest thing to spend money on ever.
xDocFearx t1_ixhp6bq wrote
Lol I’m sure the teacher love seeing this
55V35lM t1_ixhkq3e wrote
- Do we need to talk about renaming Carytown now?
ImmobilizedbyCheese t1_ixhlx30 wrote
And Cary Street. And Lewis Ginter botanical gardens. And Byrd everything. Change it to Bird. Rename all streets to just letters or numbers or plants.
[deleted] t1_ixhorfk wrote
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turnipmeatloaf t1_ixhw8qs wrote
Idk if you’re serious or not, but I do actually like the idea of naming things after plants..especially plants native to RVA
ScrambledSkrinks t1_ixih0sn wrote
What if the person who named the plant gets cancelled?
-lamppost- t1_ixir6ra wrote
Plants can be named after people too. So careful with that slippery slope.
ImmobilizedbyCheese t1_ixi00re wrote
Totally serious. If we're gonna do it let's just do it and be done. Bonus for me, I already live on a plant street.
Colt1911-45 t1_ixje0uv wrote
Cary St and Carytown were named after a Colonel from the Revolutionary War who was also involved in politics. Yes he was a slave owner, but this was 200 plus years ago.
Lewis Ginter did a lot to rebuild Richmond after the Civil War and was a known philanthropist. His estate financed Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens which was established by his niece. Ginter was pretty much Richmond through and through.
Byrd Park was named after William Byrd who is considered the founder of Richmond. Byrd was not a nice guy and his diary writings show how he was cruel to his slaves.
We can't erase our history. We need to study it and surround ourselves with it so we can learn from it and do better. Renaming every damn thing because we are using today's moral compass to judge people who built the very things we are enjoying today is just mindless. I am not condoning whitewashing history, I am just saying we shouldn't erase it.
ImmobilizedbyCheese t1_ixm3fh4 wrote
All very interesting. I admit I know none of this history and was just being flippant because if we rename schools why not do it all and be done with it. Kind of like legalizing weed. I dont smoke but I'm tired of hearing about it so just do it already and we can move on.
Colt1911-45 t1_ixmpawo wrote
We're all guilty of it. We are so overloaded with information now that even though we have all of this info literally at the tips of our fingers we don't have the time or the energy to put 30 seconds into looking past a headline or a post. It's kind of ironic if you think about it tbh.
parrisjd t1_ixi9u7a wrote
Oh that's inevitable. Just please god don't let the city hire some firm to call it Museum District Marketplace or some other $1,000,000 yawn.
55V35lM t1_ixije42 wrote
Well, that too is inevitable… it’s the RVA way
[deleted] t1_ixhggaw wrote
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Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixhogks wrote
Yes but that would skip the part I mind which is the waste of money. And it's the only place to put it
[deleted] t1_ixhqigk wrote
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Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixkabo2 wrote
oh sorry
opienandm t1_ixhvruv wrote
You think it’s a waste of money. How white of you. This is the same argument many white people used to preserve the statues.
Others who are black may have a different opinion and may not think it’s a waste of money, but correcting something that is very wrong.
Chrahhh t1_ixi3elz wrote
It is a waste of money
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixia4y7 wrote
If you think math is white you are a racist
opienandm t1_ixjg81o wrote
WTF does that even mean? There is the $150,000, and there is the opinion one has about how it should be spent. The opinion might be racist. Math is unemotional and unopinionated.
Your opinion is VERY white because it completely disregards the opinions and position which Black people may hold about this. It’s completely dismissive of others’ points of view.
Did we learn nothing from the past several years?
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixkag0q wrote
honestly, you think insulting people using the color of their skin is a good thing. I'm appalled that someone can be that racist in this day and age
I bet you are anti semitic and anti asian as well? Or do you have a preferred list of racisms?
quite seriously, how can you be such an awful person given what we know now? How can you hate someone based on the color of their skin, and think that's appropriate? How can you use skin color as an insult? You do exactly what the racist confederates did, and delude yourself into thinking you are different? You really need to spend some time trying to be a better person
At this point you are saying you love the game, just like rooting for a different team. I'm quite literally appalled, congratulations
opienandm t1_ixke53j wrote
Interesting that you took that as an insult rather than an observation of the air of your opinion being superior to that of Black people. This is one of the key aspects of the concept of whiteness.
Thank you providing a real world example with your accusations of racism.
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixkg2fh wrote
you are quite literally using skin color as an insult. So you've decided it's an ok thing. Literally, you endorse racism. How can you possibly think that is a good thing? Doesn't the utter hypocrisy just apall you?
opienandm t1_ixki3cd wrote
Your schools failed you. Insult and observation do not mean the same thing. Edit: And you should look up the definition of the word, “literally”. It literally doesn’t mean what you think it does.
I didn’t really expect you to read the linked article, but here’s a passage which almost seems as if it was based on your reactions:
“If you identify as white, acknowledging your white racial identity and its privileges is a crucial step to help end racism. Facing your whiteness is hard and can result in feelings of guilt, sadness, confusion, defensiveness, or fear. Dr. Robin DiAngelo coined the term white fragility to describe these feelings as "a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves." Since white people "live in a social environment that insulates them from race-based stress," whites are rarely challenged and have less of a tolerance to race-based stress.
The feelings associated with white fragility often derail conversations about race and serve to support white supremacy. While these feelings are natural human reactions, staying stuck in any of them hurts the process of creating a more equitable society. The defensiveness, guilt, or denial gets in the way of addressing the racism experienced by people of color.“
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixv0gii wrote
you sound like a plantation owner explaining why slavery was good for black people. One day we will move past explanations why "this time our racism is different" I hope.
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixuzzc2 wrote
interesting you aren't willing to face the fact you are a racist. You literally define by race and use race as an insult. How can you be so awful and live with yourself?
opienandm t1_ixxpwsm wrote
You are making me really think about things. You may be right and I should probably remove my horrible existence from the earth. Thanks for the nudge, it’s just what I needed.
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_iy48pte wrote
or just stop judging people by their skin color? It's not that hard to not be a racist, you should try it
opienandm t1_iy4xtyn wrote
Present the evidence for your assertion. You won’t, because you can’t. And you knew that the first time you brought racism into the discussion.
It’s so easy and safe to call someone a racist (especially behind an anonymous internet user name), because one doesn’t really have to back it up if it’s interpreted as an opinion. It’s a strategy taken straight from the “white supremacist playbook”. This tactic is often used as an attempt to diffuse the momentum of anti-hate and equality initiatives while providing a thinly-veiled defense of white identity.
This has me questioning your motive for being so inflammatory. I had hoped you were simply being careless with your words, but after all of these non-stop replies calling me a racist it appears there may be more to your objectives than I had first assumed. Go ahead, let it out.
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_iy6b31n wrote
you are a racist. Period. I'm not being inflammatory, I'm wanting you to be better and stop using the color of skin as an insult. You know what that's called? Racist.
I bet you think it's ok to say "jew someone down" and other charming things
opienandm t1_iy6uvl2 wrote
It’s pathetic that you think your contribution to racial equality is bleating, “racist!” like a brainless sheep when anyone threatens your fragile identity. And what exactly have you done to dismantle the racist infrastructure? How is your landlording contributing to improving the lives of the marginalized? What % of your units are below market rate? How many are rented to humans who served prison time due to systemic racism and injustice? I’ll bet it’s ZERO for both, because you probably pride yourself on the “vetting” you perform on your applicants and taking that risk might mean a lower profit, right?. I wonder how your “vetting” would stand up to a Fair Housing Act audit.
Try doing some actual work to improve equity and access for people who don’t have that humongous silver spoon in their mouth like you do, then get back to me. Maybe I’ll invest in your initiative(s) once you demonstrate that you want to be part of the solution rather than exacerbating the hate and racism you seem to lovingly embrace.
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_iy8f1ol wrote
stop being in love with being a racist. Stop defending racism.
Be better
rvavt t1_ixidl2s wrote
So you think the money spent to take down the statues was a waste. If not, why is this situation different? What justifies preserving the honoring of slaveholders and those who fought to preserve slavery? I’ve been told that Lee was a noble person despite the fact that he fought to preserve slavery. Does that mean money was wasted on removing his statue? To some, yes.
The “gray area” argument is just an excuse not to stand against institutional racism.
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixkc7rq wrote
I do think it was a waste. I would have just renamed Lee "Grant" Stuart "Sherman" and so forth.
I'm all for yankee general statues. I'm a yankee
RammmITTT t1_ixiapd5 wrote
In honor of everything and everyone growing to resemble scenes and characters from the movie Idiocracy, it'd be kinda neat to rename everything after wrestlers. Sgt Slaughter Elementary. Rick Flair Botanical Gardens. Superfly Snooka Street. At the entrance to the city we can install signs that read "Welcome to Richmond, I Love You.". And instead of "Richmond Real" we should adopt, "go away baitin'."
JosefDerArbeiter t1_ixhm6sb wrote
This can't just stop with renaming the schools, then it's all for naught. Cary street in its entirety shall need to be renamed with every existing street sign that reads Cary needing to be replaced.
Also Carytown shall need to be renamed, how do you think that would go over with the business community?
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixhom70 wrote
It's interesting that Stephanie rizzi is pushing for this and kenya Gibson opposed it
Soloemilia t1_ixj6d33 wrote
Why do you find that interesting?
Charlesinrichmond OP t1_ixkcdwg wrote
I think of them as both Richmond For All? Or have I lost track
PayneTrainSG t1_ixhsp4b wrote
I wonder how much of the estimated cost would not be realized in some other way. You have to hit up the sign shop 3 times, but things like updating the website, changing letterhead, reprinting IDs, etc., are costs likely to be borne through a standard operating year anyway.
$50,000 per school is also not a trivial amount of money but in the end, comes out to less than $2.50 per school per student in RPS. That's a pack of pens.
I think it would have been best to roll this out over 2 or 3 years; there is likely additional cost efficiency to be found by learning what needs to be done on the first pass before going for the next 2.
Mr_Boneman t1_ixiokdb wrote
I remember going to Binford as a young lad thinking, there’s no way that school will be open in 25 years as asbestos tiles fell on our head in 100 degree classrooms on the 3rd floor. Guess I was wrong.
FlexRVA21984 t1_ixj1wp2 wrote
What an absurd waste of money! Teachers don’t have necessary supplies to do their jobs and students are failing at embarrassing (for them) rates. How will this help anyone? Fucking ridiculous
bozatwork t1_ixhws19 wrote
They also thought $300k for a temporary roof to protect Fox during rebuilding would be wasteful spending, so they voted to provide the permanent roof... roughly 30 weeks from now. Let's hope we don't have more than $300k in additional damage due to a lack of roof.
raindeerpie t1_ixk5lsv wrote
more wasted money to fix a problem that doesn't exist just so they can pretend they care
dontwontcarequeend65 t1_ixi4s9o wrote
It's interesting the people that think it doesn't really matter what the schools are named. In this age you have access to more information so that even though 50 years ago you may have gone there and you didn't know, in 2022 you do. And it matters.
MausoleumNeeson t1_ixj0bmo wrote
I see your point and would argue it still doesn’t matter. I went to Byrd Middle school, could easily google who Harry flood Byrd was and some of the things he did, and never once thought oh we should segregate schools again.
dontwontcarequeend65 t1_ixmatik wrote
What? Who said we should segregate schools again and it has not always been possible to Google stuff. And it wasn't that everyone was just ignorant and unaware of what Harry Byrd was, it was that they were disenfranchised felt they had no voice and couldn't do nothing about it. Now they know better. Stuff is not just relevant for your age group you know.
MausoleumNeeson t1_ixmb4si wrote
Who’s disenfranchised by a public school name that quite literally zero of the student body really cares/thinks about
-lamppost- t1_ixiqxfl wrote
We should just start numbering schools. I agree that the famous confederate don’t need to have schools named after them — especially when they had nothing to do with education — but these were just Virginians basically. I guess I learned something about Virginia history today.
jbarrish t1_ixjcz1v wrote
I'm glad the City is tackling the important issues that will improve the lives of its impoverished citizens.
ChalanaWrites t1_ixjhjiv wrote
Why can’t they just do what King County did where they changed their namesake but kept the exact same name? It’s not like that exact combination of words used in the schools’ names are the problem.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_County,_Washington#History
Seems like you could find a Cary who’s had a net positive impact on the world with a week of research
PercyDovetonsils t1_ixkcyto wrote
Number them, something like PS123. Any name you choose will offend someone, either now or in the future.
[deleted] t1_ixiz6oi wrote
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[deleted] t1_ixjnrqb wrote
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isullivan t1_ixk0ohl wrote
Excellent and detailed writeup on the meeting here http://www.rvadirt.com/blog/2022/11/22/rps-recap-112122 including great pieces like council making zero presentation of details, making up the (lowball) cost estimates from thin air, and then voting on it with no chance for review or fact gathering. I agree that naming things after Confederates is trash but these aren't just symbolic votes, they need practical and prioritized plans attached.
VAtenkara t1_ixhh86p wrote
And yet I see my RPS teacher friends having to do fundraisers and drives just to afford necessary supplies for their classrooms.
Money well spent to change the name of schools that 95% of people didn’t even know were confederates