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DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) — These are tough times to be named Robert E. Lee, especially for public institutions.
In San Antonio the Northeast Independent School District, like others in the country, has decided to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School due to the national debate about symbols of confederacy. Monday night the school board set criteria for the name change and the main point the board decided upon is that the new name of the school will honor an idea rather than a person.
The Blaze reports Superintendent Brian Gottardy explained that naming schools after people can be volatile during these sensitive and introspective times.
District spokeswoman Aubrey Chancellor explained the new idea by giving examples. “We have the Academy of Creative Education and we also have the International School of the Americas” she said. “So at this point we are really looking for an idea, not really a person’s name.”
Suggested names will be reviewed in October but the school’s name won’t be changed until after the 2017-2018 school year.
In East Texas the Tyler ISD also has a Robert E. Lee High School and a majority of the board of directors has voted in favor of considering a name change. So far there has been no action there.