SHENANDOAH COUNTY, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – The Shenandoah County School Board has selected its law firm to represent them against the lawsuit filed recently by the Virginia chapter of the NAACP.

The board voted 5-0, with member Gloria Corlineo abstaining, at last night’s strategic planning session to hire Salem-based Guynn-Waddell, P.C. as their legal counsel.

Superintendent Melody Shephard said afterwards that their strength is constitutional law.

“They’re a law firm that’s associated with our insurance company, VAcorp, so that’s really why we went with them,” Shephard explained.

Earlier this month, the NAACP filed the lawsuit against the school board over returning the names of Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby-Lee Elementary School.

Another school board vacates VSBA

Earlier in the meeting, the Shenandoah County School Board also voted unanimously to leave the Virginia School Board Association.

They are the latest of several Virginia school boards who have elected to not renew their membership with the VSBA. The Rockingham County School Board voted to exit the VSBA earlier this month in favor of the more conservative-leaning School Board Member Alliance (SBMA), while retaining VSBA’s policy services.

Vice Chairman Kyle Guttshall told Rocktown Now that staying with the VSBA was not in the county’s best interest.

“The VSBA is a major lobbying organization, and I don’t feel like their views represent our views here in Shenandoah County,” Guttshall said. “So myself and the rest of our board felt unanimous in this decision, and I think it’ll be the best for us moving forward.”

The board’s membership will end on June 30. They will review alternative organizations, including the SBMA, in the near future.

The Warren County School Board, which neighbors Shenandoah County, voted to disaffiliate with the VSBA in September 2023, followed by the Orange County School Board in May.

Rocktown Now Editor-In-Chief Calvin Pynn contributed to this report.