More than 2,443 entries have been submitted to rename Robert E. Lee High School. Only one fifth of those will be considered by the North East ISD school board this month.
What’s in a name? That will be up to the NEISD School board as it reviews 500 acceptable entries to rename Robert E. Lee High School. The school was named after the confederate general in 1958 but board members voted to change the name in August.
The public had a week to submit name suggestions last month. NEISD Spokeswoman Aubrey Chancellor says the district did not want it to be named after a person but instead an idea. “In addition to that it needed to be wholesome and something that would be well reflected on the school and stand the test of time,” she adds.
Some of the accepted names include: Liberty High School, North East High School, and Lone Star High School. You can see the full list of the potential names on NEISD's website.
The other 1900 suggestions, however, included names of people, or unflattering terms, “and a lot of them were just downright racist, inappropriate, and unfortunately offensive,” Chancellor says.
Some of the rejected submissions include, Spurs Basketball Coach Gregg Popovich, singers Willie Nelson and Missy Elliot, “Schooly McSchoolface,” Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks and a few words not suitable for radio broadcast.
Lee high school will keep its name through the 2017-2018 school year. The NEISD Board will examine the 500 acceptable names and potentially choose one at its board meeting next Monday.
