The Orange County School Board voted Tuesday night to change the name of Robert E. Lee Middle School to College Park Middle School.

  • Robert E. Lee Middle School advisory council pushed for name change
  • Orange County School Board voted 7 to 1 in favor
  • Not everyone is in favor of the name change

 

Parents pushed school administrators for more than a year to make the change, saying the school’s namesake represents a time when slavery as accepted as OK.

Marsha Hall’s son Luke is in fifth grade, and could enroll in Robert E. Lee Middle School next year. Hall was one of several parents not happy with the name of the school.

“You don’t just go to a school and bear the name on your jersey or polo shirt. You’re a representative of that history as well, and I want it to be something he can be proud of,” said Hall.

Parents on Robert E. Lee Middle’s school advisory council arguing the middle school’s namesake -- a general in the Confederate Army during the civil war -- sends the wrong message to the school's students. A majority of those students are black.

The school’s advisory council conducted surveys they say showed a majority of College Park’s residents agreed with the name change. But not everyone was for it.

“Robert E. Lee was a sterling individual, and his family was, and I feel it’s like taking away the history of what I grew up with, and it’s very upsetting to me,” said Ivy Buck, who attended the school decades ago.

One school board member said most of her constituents didn’t want a change, so she voted against it. But the rest of board voted for it and the measure passed with a vote of 7 to 1.

Marsha Hall’s son says the recommended new name just makes sense.

“I just think it should represent the community, and since the community is College Park, College Park is a suitable name for it,” said Luke Hall.

“This means a lot to us, and at the same time I know for some people this is a big change and a huge adjustment, but I think it’s the right thing to do,” said Marsha Hall.

It’s unclear when exactly the school district will replace the signs in front of the middle school.  The change will cost the school district about $20,000.

The school advisory board would also like to see the middle school’s “Rebel” mascot changed, but that was not addressed at Tuesday night’s school board meeting.