School board looks at changing name of school bearing name of Revolutionary War general, former governor who owned slaves

General Smallwood Middle School in southern Maryland may soon be no more.

The Charles County Board of Education reviewed the process to change the name of the school and the price tag associated with it at their April 16 meeting because concerns had been raised over Gen. William Smallwood being a slave owner.

Jack Tuttle, a content specialist for the school system, elaborated on Smallwood’s history from his findings in the Maryland state archives.

Smallwood was born in 1732 and grew up in Charles County, and his family had already been wealthy plantation owners before his birth, Tuttle’s presentation said.

In 1761, Smallwood became a Charles County delegate to the assembly and served in the seat for 11 years prior to the Revolutionary War.

He joined Charles County’s committee of correspondence in 1774, which was a political organization against the British that was dedicated to spreading information, Tuttle’s presentation said.

In 1776, Smallwood joined the Revolutionary War effort as a colonel, then eventually brigadier general of the First Maryland Regiment. He was promoted to major general based on campaigns throughout the East Coast.

By 1790, Smallwood owned 4,350 acres in Charles County and had 56 enslaved people working on his plantation. He served as Maryland’s governor from 1785 to 1788 before he died in 1792, Tuttle said.

Charles public school system will survey the community to garner perspective from students, staff, families, the Smallwood school feeder community, elected officials and advocacy groups on changing the school’s name, Superintendent Maria Navarro said.

Navarro proposed that all outreach would take place throughout May and early June and the results of the survey would be presented at a June board of education meeting.

The cost of changing the school’s name could span anywhere from $64,500 to $124,500, with most of the variance coming from the type of sign the school chooses, according to Tuttle and Navarro’s presentation. A traditional sign would cost about $10,000, while an LED digital sign would cost upward of $70,000.

Other potential costs include $35,000 for exterior school lettering, $3,000 for school graphic window film, $10,000 for school plaques, $1,000 for school banners and $5,500 for athletic uniforms.

Navarro reminded board members of Board Policy 7230, which states that a vote to rename the school cannot be held until at least three intervening school board meetings after notification to the school’s community.