JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A school advisory committee has proposed four alternative names that could be used to replace the name of Robert E. Lee High School.
A total of five names, including Robert E. Lee High School, will be submitted for constituents to vote on a preferred name. During a meeting Monday night in the school’s auditorium, the committee decided on the following names:
- Avondale High School
- Legacy High School
- Riverside High School
- School #33
- Robert E. Lee High School
LINK: Strategic planning school name change tracker
The School Board’s policy states that the replacement cannot be another person’s name. Some of the potential names, like Barack Obama High School, were removed for that reason.
Norman Abraham doesn’t want the school’s name to change and believes the school should be spending the money elsewhere.
“We could have a top of the line football field if we could have the money they’re spending to rename it,” said Abraham.
Evan Quintance, who graduated in 2020, supports the move to change the name.
“I’m looking forward to when we can actually vote,” Quintace said.
People eligible to vote will be able to do so during two voting windows:
- April 26 to April 30, between 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
- May 3 to May 7, between 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Here is a list of who can vote:
- Students
- Duval Schools faculty and staff
- School Advisory Council
- Parent Teacher Association or Parent Teacher Student Association members
- Community members within the school’s attendance zone, and former attendance zone for current Magnet schools
- Alumni of the school, regardless of graduation status
Meetings have been held to discuss renaming nine schools. Six of the schools under consideration for renaming honor Confederate Civil War leaders and the other three schools are named after leaders who perpetrated violence against Native Americans.
Ribault High School is one of those schools. On Monday night, it too had a committee decide on a list of names, which include Ribault High, Northside High School and Northwest High School.
A spokesperson for Duval County Public Schools said the public interest in the name change at Lee High School is 20 to 25 times higher than other schools.
The results of the voting will be submitted to the superintendent in mid-May. The school superintendent will make a final recommendation on any name changes to the school board which will have the final say.