Board of Education
Seven people, including five alumni of Vestavia Hills High School, called for the Vestavia Hills City School system to drop the “Rebel” nickname and address documented injustices in the school system, adding to calls previously made on social media.
The Facebook and Instagram pages for “Injustices in VHCS” document numerous stories of bullying, racism, sexual assault and harassment that allegedly took place within Vestavia Hills City Schools.
Mallory Moore, a 2018 graduate of VHHS, personally attended the meeting and said she was affected by the stories and read a 2018 email to the board sent by another student detailing a graphic sexual assault that allegedly took place at the high school. Moore said she herself was sexually harassed at both Pizitz Middle School and Vestavia Hills High School, and said the school system needs to address the issues raised on the page.
Other speakers had the chance to speak over the phone at the meeting.
Anna Cuevas, a 2006 graduate of VHHS, said the Rebel name needs to go. While the school system has previously removed the Rebel mascot and changed the school’s flag, that isn’t enough, Cuevas said.
Cuevas said keeping the name perpetuates Confederate ideology and that the name is “tainted.”
“If Vestavia truly wants to counter racism and bigotry, dropping the Rebel name would be the very first step,” Cuevas said.
Joe Nelson said while his young child is not yet in the system, he encourages the dropping of the name because, he said, it does not represent the city well. Not doing so continues laying a “weight” for all alumni to carry after they graduate, he said.
Others who spoke included Theodore Foster, a 2005 VHHS graduate, Jennifer DeBerry, Salem Khalaf, also a VHHS graduate, and Whitt Shumaker, a 2020 graduate.
Shumaker said there some students at the high school feel “unloved, unwelcome and unsafe” at school, because sexual harassment and other forms of injustice are not properly dealt with.
Board president Lisa Baker and new board member Scott Brown both thanked Moore and others for sharing their stories.
“It takes courage to do so,” Brown said.
The school’s director of public relations, Whit McGhee, said he has not received word on any other comment regarding the requests other than the one posted by the school system on July 10, which said the school system “endeavors to create a learning environment that is safe for students and staff,” and institutes a Code of Conduct to create such an environment, though they cannot address individual cases.
“The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) protects the privacy of all students’ educational records. Accordingly, we will not discuss matters subject to this federal law regarding any current or former students,” the school said in a statement.
The school system also released a statement earlier this summer saying it would not change the Rebel name, citing the “unique identity” the name has in the schools.
“Being a Vestavia Hills Rebel means defying cultural norms and expectations. It means pursuing excellence not only in the classroom or ball field, but in the community and throughout the world as well. It means using our voices and resources to condemn the scourge of racism and bigotry and to advocate justice for others. These ideals are at the core of Vestavia Hills High School’s Rebel Edge creed and our mission,” the school said in the statement. “Being a Vestavia Hills Rebel also means never settling for the status quo. For the past 50 years, our schools and community have committed themselves to casting an ambitious vision of the future, undergirded by a set of core beliefs. We believe that every person has value and deserves respect. We believe every person is responsible for his or her actions. We believe every person deserves to be safe. We believe our identity is reflected best in the hearts of our students, faculty, staff, and community. This is our Rebel Edge.”
School Reopening Plan
Eighteen percent of VHCS students will be using the remote learning model, after the deadline to sign up for the model passed July 22. The other 82% of students will attend on-campus classes, said Superintendent Todd Freeman.
Freeman said the school system has also received funds to help reimburse it for COVID-19 related expenses. Those funds include the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER), $379,493 and the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), which includes $533,301 for education and wellness and $761,859 for educational remote learning devices.
Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Aimee Rainey said the school system will also not be using SchoolsPLP as previously announced; instead, they will use Edgenuity and Accelerate as content providers.
Following the recommendation of Jefferson County Health Officer Dr. Mark Wilson on July 27 that middle and high schools should not return to on-campus learning right away, the schools put out a statement on July 28, after the meeting:
“We are also awaiting additional guidance from the Alabama Department of Public Health and Governor’s office related to the current health order. Vestavia Hills City Schools will be evaluating these recommendations and guidance to determine necessary revisions to our reopening plan. We will communicate updates to the reopening plan to VHCS families and staff directly by email and on our website on Friday, July 31.”
Other Items
The Board also approved a roughly $70,000 increase to the field restoration project at Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge, as crews must remove and replace a storm pipe.
The track at Vestavia Hills High School will also be resurfaced in coming years after the Board approved an agreement with Lathan Associates. The project will cost roughly $780,000, and a timeline on the project is not yet known.
In other business, the Board:
- Approved Meredith Hanson as the school’s sick bank leave representative
- Approved the salary and supplement schedule for 2020-21
- Approved the changing of a Board policy that will allow students on an approved, accelerated educational path to qualify for some high-school credit while in middle school.
- Heard information about student fees, but no action was taken
The Board also went into executive session at the end of the meeting to discuss matters of litigation. No minutes of executive sessions are kept, and the items discussed are not known.
