This afternoon Fairfax High School principal Dr. Erin Lenart announced going forward the Fairfax HS team name will be the Fairfax High School Lions. While this is solely a principal decision, the City of Fairfax School Board fully supports Dr. Lenart and shares her pride in officially becoming the Fairfax High School Lions.
Tonight we will hold a special school board meeting at 7:30 pm. At this meeting, we will rename the street adjacent to Fairfax High School, owned by the City of Fairfax School Board, to Lion Run. The street was named in 1972 to reflect the school’s team name and we will continue with that course of action.
Also tonight the City of Fairfax School board will vote to open public comment in regards to the name of Lanier Middle School. As a reminder to our community, Lanier MS was named by Fairfax County Public Schools in 1959 after poet Sidney Lanier, who served in the Confederate Army from 1861-1865. When the City of Fairfax acquired the land and building from Fairfax County when it incorporated into a city in 1961, the name did not change (then Sidney Lanier Intermediate School).
As all naming rights of the City’s school buildings and facilities are the responsibility of the City of Fairfax School Board, I have asked our Superintendent, Dr. Phyllis Pajardo, to develop a plan that includes multiple opportunities for community engagement. The plan will be presented to our board at our Regular School Board Meeting on Monday, July 6 2020.
The Board expects to begin public engagement later this summer and will conclude in the fall. Following the July meeting, we will provide all the ways for the public to provide input and to ask questions. In the interim, our community is welcome to contact us through email [email protected] or via phone 703-293-7131.