The Roanoke (Va.) School District has become the latest public school system to rename a campus that had been named for a Confederate War figure.
The Roanoke Times reports that the school board has voted 6 to 1 to change the name of Stonewall Jackson Middle School to John P. Fishwick Middle School.
Fishwick, a son of immigrants, was born in southeast Roanoke where Stonewall Jackson Middle School is situated. Fishwick served as president of the Norfolk & Western Railway from 1970 to 1981.
Costs associated with renaming the school are estimated to be at least $170,000, Superintendent Rita Bishop says. The school's basketball court, athletic and band uniforms and signage will be replaced.
Board member Bill Hopkins cast the lone vote against renaming, citing the general opinion of the southeast Roanoke community and costs associated with renaming.
A special committee released a report last month that called for renaming the school. [Read the report]
The committee was formed last fall amid a national discussion on the handling of memorials and homages to Confederate leaders.
The middle school opened in 1925 under the name Jackson Junior High School.
