The Shenandoah County School Board in Virginia has voted unanimously to appeal a federal court order to remove Confederate names from schools in the county. The decision may cost millions in taxpayer dollars to contest.

Background

In August, U.S. District Court Judge Michael F. Urbanski ruled in favor of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP and families of six students who sued over the school names, finding that the district’s decision to rebrand the schools with the names of Confederate generals violated multiple civil rights laws.

The school board met on Thursday to discuss the ruling and voted 6-0 to appeal, citing a desire to defend their lawful local authority over school naming and to challenge what they consider legal, procedural, and factual errors in the district court’s ruling.

Reaction

AD Carter, a former student and one of the plaintiffs in the case, reflected on his time at Stonewall Jackson High School, saying he didn’t want other students to have to go through what he experienced. The plaintiffs’ legal team has offered to fund a private mediator to establish a community-driven renaming process and resolve legal fees.

The cost to the school board for this case could be substantial, with the board having already incurred about $500,000 in actual costs related to the litigation, and total attorneys’ fees exceeding $15 million. The plaintiffs plan to file a petition for approximately $7 to 10 million in legal fees.

Original reporting: Alexandria, VA News – WTOP News — read the source article.