The Alexandria School Board on Thursday unanimously directed the superintendent to start a naming process for the athletic field complex at Alexandria High School’s Minnie Howard Campus, and to consider naming it in honor of former Mayor Kerry Donley.
The field complex is under construction until summer 2025. It includes a synthetic turf field for lacrosse, field hockey and soccer, as well as basketball and futsol courts, bleachers and a walking path.
Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt said that the school system would wholeheartedly take on a renaming process for the complex with community engagement, multiple name options and an eventual vote from the School Board.
Donley died unexpectedly in 2022 at the age of 66. He was on City Council for 18 years, and was mayor from 1996 to 2003. After a two-year stint as the chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, he was hired as the athletic director at ACHS, a position he held from 2005 to 2008.
“I find an honor to be one of the board members that can can authorize or attempt to authorize to move this along,” Board member Tammy Ignacio said.
Former City Council Member Lonnie Rich said that it’s a fitting tribute.
“This proposal to name the field after him is, I think, a very appropriate honor for him and for his family,” Rich told the School Board.
Last year, nearly 500 signatures were collected in a petition to name the complex after Donley.
