The city’s school system is just months away from moving its operational headquarters to Winchester’s North End, so School Board members have decided it’s time to come up with a name for their new building.
Winchester Public Schools’ Central Administrative Offices are currently located in an 11,340-square-foot building at 12 N. Washington St. By the end of the year, administrators expect to relocate to a refurbished building at 598 N. Kent St. formerly known as the Douglas School.
“We should be doing a ribbon cutting knowing the name of the building,” board member Erica Truban said at Monday night’s School Board work session.
The new offices will be located in a building originally constructed in 1927 to educate Black students from Winchester and Frederick and Shenandoah counties. It later housed other schools then a community center, but the historic building has been vacant for several years.
In August 2020, City Council and the School Board entered into an agreement that stated council, on behalf of the school system, would sell the board’s current office building on Washington Street once school officials were ready to move into the renovated Douglas School. All proceeds from the sale would be returned to the School Board for use in future capital projects.
In June, less than two months after it was put on the market, the building sold for $1.85 million to Mayakoba Global Properties LLC of Frederick County, which plans on converting the 12 N. Washington St. building into a residential property. Mayakoba Global is an investment group headed by Adam Ghali, general manager of Winchester Mitsubishi.
Winchester Public Schools is currently leasing the Washington Street building from Mayakoba Global, which plans on starting renovations to the facility after the first of the year.
On Monday, the school system’s director of operations, Ed Smith, suggested the School Board come up with a name for its new building before moving in. Currently, the property has no formal name but is commonly referred to as the Douglas School.
When the former Douglas School becomes the new Central Administrative Offices, “I think we should definitely keep that name for history’s sake,” said School Board Vice Chairman Bryan Pearce-Gonzales.
Smith agreed. “We would like to keep that Douglas name going forward,” he said.
Smith said the new offices will also provide meeting space for the community, so he suggested speaking with area residents and organizations to solicit suggestions for a new name. Board member Vince DiBenedetto said Smith should definitely reach out to the Douglas Alumni Association, comprised of students who attended Douglas School.
When the school first opened 95 years ago, it was named in honor of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass. According to School Board member Carmen Crawford, the second “s” was dropped from Douglass so the school wouldn’t have the same name as another one in nearby Loudoun County. Nearly a century has passed since then but no effort has ever been made to correct the spelling.
Some board members on Monday night said the single “s” makes the name unique and adds to the building’s charm. Crawford added that the Douglas Alumni Association also supports leaving the misspelling intact so it matches the name printed on their diplomas.
Crawford suggested naming the new Central Administrative Offices “Winchester School Board at the Douglas.”
Smith said he’ll reach out to the community and possibly form a small committee to solicit suggestions for the building’s new name. He expects to deliver those suggestions to the School Board in six to eight weeks so its members can make a final decision.