In a landmark decision last week, a federal judge in Harrisonburg ruled in favor of Shenandoah County students and the NAACP, who sued the county school system over its controversial decision to revert two school names to Confederate names. Now, lawyers for both sides are considering next steps, as an appeal seems as likely as mounting court costs. WMRA’s Bridget Manley reports.
AD CARTER: When I heard the verdict, I was actually hanging out with my buddy. My mom texted me, and I started losing my mind. I was jumping around this dude’s house; I mean, I’m losing it.
AD Carter, one of the student plaintiffs in the case against the Shenandoah County School Board, told a packed press conference Monday about his reaction after hearing the verdict that a federal judge ruled in the students' favor.
CARTER: And so, I told him, I said, “Hey, we just won!” So, of course he’s asking, “What’d you win? What’d you win? [Laughter] And so, I had to tell him, I said, “Hey, we just beat discrimination!” What? [cheering]
Judge Michael Urbanski issued his long-awaited order in a court case that has been ongoing since 2024, after the school board reversed a 2020 name change, returning two schools to their former Confederate names.
Read more about Urbanski’s opinion here.
Urbanski ordered the Shenandoah County School Board to “remedy the constitutional and statutory violations by removing the names ‘Stonewall Jackson’ and ‘Ashby-Lee’ and adopting new school names on a ‘racially nondiscriminatory basis, with all deliberate speed.’”
Appeals to the opinion seem almost a foregone conclusion; however, lawyers for the students and the Virginia Chapter of the NAACP have sent a letter to the school board’s lawyer, Jim Guynn of Guynn Waddell, asking the school board to consider mediation rather than appealing. Guynn previously told WMRA his clients were prepared to take the case as far as the U.S. Supreme Court.
Lawyers with the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs said that because of the decision, the plaintiffs are entitled to an award of reasonable costs and fees based on the hours attorneys and legal staff have committed to the case.
In the letter, lawyers outlined the cost to Shenandoah County taxpayers, stating that “the actual costs incurred are approximately $500,000, and the attorneys’ fees incurred exceed $15 million.” They do anticipate seeking fees significantly less than the total amount incurred, but their petition to the court for attorney fees will still be in the $7-10 million range.
LI REED: School starts this week. They still have time to remove the Confederate names from the schools before school starts. But we want to be clear that if they don’t do that, it will cost Shenandoah County.
Li Reed is an attorney with Covington & Burling LLP representing the students and the NAACP. Speaking at the press conference, she said that before seeking litigation, the students had tried to resolve the dispute.
REED: Our clients have never sought money in this case. They only sought for the names to be removed so the students would feel welcome and safe in a school environment. They also made every effort to resolve the case without possible litigation. Before involving counsel, they sent multiple letters, they went to school board meetings, and they advocated for themselves in every way possible to stop the school board from changing the names.
Further, Reed said, attorneys continued throughout the litigation to reach out and settle, offering to “resolve the matter without any cost to the school board,” and that the board knew going into the trial that they would be responsible for costs and fees should they lose.
They say that if the school board chooses mediation and that mediation is successful “in order to put this dispute to an end,” lawyers for the students and NAACP would be “willing to reduce the amount of the award of costs and fees by millions of dollars.”
However, the attorneys warned that if the school board decides to continue appeals, they will not agree to discounting any fees or costs, and that they wanted to “provide an off-ramp to bring a prompt resolution to this litigation and reduce the financial burden that will be visited on the local community.”
Guynn told WMRA that he understands the school board will appeal and that he is waiting for the official word before filing the appeal. When asked about the letter, the possibility of mediation, and the amount of attorney fees that could be paid by Shenandoah County taxpayers, Guynn said he could not comment because he had not “discussed them with [his] client.”
KIM CARTER: For many, it was more than a name change. It was a reminder of history, of exclusion, and discrimination.
Kim Carter is the mother of AD Carter, one of the student plaintiffs.
CARTER: I’m hopeful that we can move behind that hurtful chapter, and focus on building a future that brings people together, and our schools can be a place where everyone feels welcomed, and respected, and valued in our county. Thank you. [applause]
