Anne Arundel County Public School Board Creating Committee To Weigh Changing Name Of George Fox Middle School
PASADENA, Md. (WJZ) -- The Anne Arundel County Public Schools Board of Education announced Thursday that they have voted unanimously to request that Superintendent George Arlotto establish a committee comprised of parents, students, community members and staff to study and recommend whether to rename George Fox Middle School.
The vote, taken at the Board's July 8 meeting, came after a discussion of comments from Mr. Fox in a court case regarding equal pay for African American teachers. Mr. Fox said "the worst White teacher is better than the best Black teacher."
Mr. Fox was the first superintendent of the Anne Arundel County Public Schools system serving from 1916-1946. The comments were brought to the attention of Board Member Julie Hummer by a community member at which point Ms. Hummer did further research and brought it to the Board's attention.
The motion passed by the Board does not remove George Fox's name from the middle school; instead, it calls for the committee to examine the comments and review any other pertinent details from Mr. Fox's life's work before recommending to the Board whether the name should be changed. The committee's report is due by March 2021.