Two schools in Falls Church named after Founding Fathers will be renamed.

The Falls Church School Board voted 7-0 on Tuesday to rename Thomas Jefferson Elementary and George Mason High schools.

But nearly 56% of the students, parents, staff and community members surveyed in October disapproved of changing the names.

“After deep and careful consideration of everything I’ve heard and read, I conclude that renaming both schools is in the best interest of our students and a necessary part of our equity work,” Board Chair Greg Anderson said during the meeting. He said he concluded that the public was split on the idea, and the board should do the right thing and change the names.

During public comment, Dr. Jennifer Santiago, Director of Equity for Falls Church schools, said minority voices need to be heard on the naming issue.

“While there are many times majority rules works in issues of equity, it is the opposite that is needed,” she said. “If the majority rule worked for traditionally marginalized groups, we would not have systemic racism.”

The name change idea came from the school board after a summer of social change that followed the police killing of George Floyd. The board’s survey found that some wanted the change because George Mason and Thomas Jefferson owned enslaved people.

“Students who attend a school named after a slaveowner may feel marginalized and uncomfortable,” respondents said.

Sam Mostow of the George Mason Student Council Association Executive Board encouraged the board to change the name because of that reason.

“Both George Mason and Thomas Jefferson enslaved human beings,” he said during public comment. “They bought and sold people as property. Their actions have participated in and caused generations upon generations of pain that continues to be felt to this day.

“They committed crimes against humanity and cannot represent our schools’ identity.”

The survey also said schools should be named after individuals who better reflect the values of the Falls Church community, and a change would demonstrate the school district’s “ability to embrace the current social climate.”

Thomas Jefferson was the third president, author of the Declaration of Independence and governor of Virginia. George Mason was the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, delegate to the Constitutional Convention and an architect of the United States Bill of Rights.

The school board will create an advisory committee that will suggest five new potential names. That process begins next week.