At a meeting this week, parents and students proposed presidents — past and present, war heroes, suffragettes, geographical landmarks and even a nerdy high-school movie character as the possible names for the new secondary school opening in Lorton in September.
In the end, though, a familiar name came out at the top of the list.
"South County Secondary School" was the top choice of the nearly 500 parents and students who attended the community naming meeting on Monday, Feb. 7 at Halley Elementary School in Fairfax Station. Those who attended were given over 40 choices for which to cast their votes, but the name given top honors was the one that has been in use — albeit temporarily — since the school was voted to be built.
"It’s all-encompassing. This is the south end of the county, no matter what neighborhood you’re from, and I think unity is a big thing," said Jim Puhek, a resident of Fairfax Station, whose wife and three of his six children were at the meeting. Puhek’s oldest daughter is a sophomore and could attend the new school this fall, if the school chooses to add a junior class.
The Monday meeting, moderated by the school’s principal Dale Rumberger, was the first step in the process of officially naming the school. The top three vote-getters at Monday’s naming meeting will be presented to the Fairfax County School Board as an action item at its Thursday, Feb. 10, meeting. Board members will officially vote to decide the name on Feb. 24.
"I think we’ve got a fabulous start with the number of people who are here tonight. It’s consistent with what we’ve seen throughout the process — a community who is very committed and deeply cares about making this school one of the best high schools in Fairfax County," said School Board member Daniel Storck (Mount Vernon). "I think we’re off to a great start."
Following "South County," the second-place name was "Lewis and Clark Secondary School," named after the 19th century exploration team of Meriwether Lewis — a Virginia native — and William Clark, who began their pioneering journey across America in 1804.
The third-place name was a bit of a surprise. Following a suggestion from an anonymous citizen prior to the meeting, the name of "Lt. Cmdr. Otis Vincent Tolbert Secondary School" was entered into the voting, and received 140 votes, nearly as many as "Lewis and Clark." Tolbert, a Navy officer and veteran of the Gulf War, was a resident of Lorton and was killed in the terrorist attack on the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. A former standout running back at Fresno State University, Tolbert had also worked as an intelligence officer during his military career.
Storck said he anticipated the School Board would direct Fairfax County Schools staff to do more research on all the history behind all three names, to give them more information on which to vote.
"People who participated tonight have a general idea what those names mean, but I think we want to know more before we make a decision," he said.
THE NAMING procedure for Fairfax County High Schools is clearly outlined by the School Board, which gives preference to names that reflect "geographic or historical features of an area" and "discourages the use of commercially adopted subdivision names," according to Board regulation 8170.3.
Rumberger first read a list of names that had been nominated prior to the meeting, then opened the floor for additional nominations. Following this period, nearly 60 names had been submitted, so Rumberger encouraged those in attendance to trim the field, through the elimination of names that already existed in Northern Virginia or the Washington, D.C., area (Freedom, Occoquan), names that were similar to one another (e.g., Southview/Southpoint), current political figures (Condoleezza Rice), and those that met with overwhelming disfavor from the crowd (Mason Neck). When the list was set, each family voted in one of five stations throughout the gymnasium, using a set of red, blue and yellow dot stickers affixed to a large sheet of paper with each of the names written on it. A blue dot meant three points, red meant two and yellow meant one. In the end, "South County" garnered 345 points, twice as many as "Lewis and Clark," which grabbed 145.
Also making the top 10 of total votes was "Alice Paul," named after the 1920s-era suffragette who was imprisoned in Lorton Correctional Facility several times for her civil disobedience. Other names in the top 10 were "Laurel Hill," "Southpoint(e)," "Colchester," "South Fairfax," "Lorton" and "Southfield."
One name that did not make the top of the list was "Napoleon Dynamite," named after the geeky protagonist of a popular movie. Rumberger said he let the name go through as an exercise in democracy. It garnered only a handful of votes.
"I think it’s important to hear community input, and for students to watch that," said Rumberger. "It’s important for community members, those vested, long term, and new, to each come forward. I would hope between now and when the Board takes the final vote, people would be appropriate in their comments back and have discussion within their community and family, and share their views."
Although many geographic names made the top of the list, the name "South County" was popular because it didn't make reference to any particular neighborhood or community, but to the entire feeder area for the school.
"I went to all the meetings before, and if you get any name that smacks of one area, that’s not good," said Puhek.