Hanover School Board reaches consensus on new school names
George Copeland Jr. | 10/1/2020, 6 p.m.
Bell Creek Middle School and Mechanicsville High School have been selected by the Hanover County School Board as the new names for the former Confederate Stonewall Jackson Middle School and Lee-Davis High School.
The board reached a consensus on the names during its planning retreat last Friday, according to a news release from the School Board.
“The board also voiced its appreciation for the input it received from families, staff and the broader community over the past several weeks, as well as the work of the School Renaming Committee,” the release stated.
The School Board was set to approve two different names on Sept. 16 — Mechanicsville Middle School and Twin River High School – but became locked into a dispute over them and how community input was handled during the selection process.
The previous names were recommended by the board’s School Renaming Committee, but did not receive widespread support in a poll of Hanover residents.
The Hanover School Board is expected to approve the names during a vote at its next meeting on Oct. 13. The schools then will choose new mascots, with more information on that process to be shared by school officials when it becomes available.
