What's in a School Name? For Leesburg, Indecision.

Living in LoCo is Erica Garman's blog devoted to all things interesting in Loudoun County. You can find it athttp://www.loudounextra.com. This column of highlights from the blog appears in this space every Sunday.

Now that the naming committee for Leesburg's next high school has submitted its recommendations to the Loudoun School Board, the question is whether panel members will take the suggestions to heart.

Committee members deadlocked between Old George Town and Tuscarora high schools. They also submitted Leesburg High as a third option.

With three choices, you'd think the School Board would find one it could agree on. Board members have said they will seriously consider the committee's recommendations, but it is quite possible they will choose none.

Board member Tom Marshall (Leesburg) said he thinks that Old George Town is too long and that Tuscarora doesn't have enough historical significance. He likes Leesburg High.

"At least people know where it is," he said.

Member John Stevens (Potomac), whose blog is called Our Loudoun Schools, has written that he'll side with colleagues Marshall and Jennifer Bergel (Catoctin), because they represent the students who will attend the new school. He said he will make his own decision if they can't agree on a name.

Member Tom Reed (At Large) has written in his blog, Loudoun Schools Dais, that the new high school should be named after the late Virginia governor and Morven Park resident Westmoreland Davis.

Representatives from the Westmoreland Davis Memorial Foundation lobbied for his name Tuesday evening at the School Board and the Leesburg Town Council meetings. Foundation Chairman Jill Gruver said the organization is arriving a little late to the naming game.

"When we became aware that there was a naming process," Gruver said, "it became apparent that this would be a wonderful opportunity to honor Westmoreland Davis's many contributions to state and local education."

During his tenure from 1918 to 1922, Davis doubled the state's appropriation to schools and teacher salaries, Gruver said. He and his wife donated books and supplies and set up programs for Loudoun public schools.