Push to restore VA schools' Confederate names was because public did not have a voice, activist says

Coalition for Better Schools spokesman Mike Scheibe claimed on Monday that there was a lack of due process when a Virginia school board renamed two schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Shenandoah County School Board decided to restore the original school names last week, which were named after Confederate military leaders Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Turner Ashby. The schools had been renamed Mountain View High School and Honey Run Elementary School after the board passed a resolution in July 2020 that affirmed the creation of an "inclusive environment."

Scheibe said his organization's effort to restore the names was because of the manner in which the schools were renamed, rather than objections to the new names themselves. 

"It's been a collective grassroots effort that really focused on the way this was done, rather than the names themselves, because people were not given a voice in this matter," Scheibe said on the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show. "It was the process and the lack of, you know, the citizens' right, to be involved in our own government. We were silenced. Whether it was purposely or not, we could argue that for days, but that's the bottom line. We were not given a voice in our own government."

Scheibe said he hopes that other communities in the country will be inspired by what his organization was able to accomplish, even if they face backlash as a result. Scheibe also said he and his organization, as well as the new school board members, have faced threats over the reversal.

"I hope that people will take this as a sign that they can make a difference in our government," Scheibe said. "The Constitution doesn't state that we have the right to be a part of the government, but it certainly implies it across the board. I hope that it does show that the majority doesn't have to be afraid of backlash, or people calling them unwelcome names to make a difference in our country. Civil discourse should be what is common, not the exception."

Scheibe added that he hopes elected officials learned that there are consequences when they do not listen to their constituents, including not getting reelected.

"This is a lesson in democracy or the democratic process ... for young people to show that if elected officials do things that don't go with the will of their majority, or of their constituents, that there are consequences," Scheibe said. "And we have to remember that, that's the basis of our country."

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.