Florida board renames schools that had honored Confederate leaders
Following a months-long debate, the Duval County School Board decided on the names Tuesday night.
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âIt is a challenge,â Superintendent Diana Greene, shown in this file photo, told FirstCoast News of the decision to rename schools that had been named after Confederate leaders. âYou think you know what is going to happen. You think you know how you are going to feel, but then when it happens, a flood of emotions came over me.â [ BOB SELF/FLORIDA TIMES-UNION | The Florida Times-Union ]
Updated 1 hour ago
JACKSONVILLE â A Florida school board has voted to rename six schools named for Confederate leaders, but will keep three others named for a French colonizer and a U.S. president who supported slavery and forced Native Americans to move west along the Trail of Tears.
Duval Schools Superintendent Diana Greene thinks six Jacksonville schools should be renamed, her recommendations obtained by the Times-Union said.
The news comes after nearly a year of debates prompting locals to reckon with the city s ties to Confederate leaders and colonizers. After a contentious set of community meetings and balloting, voting results showed that Jaxsons wanted to see schools tied to the Confederacy renamed.
Now, through a formal set of recommendations to the school board, Greene has revealed that she agrees.
The schools Greene recommends renaming are:
Joseph Finegan Elementary to Anchor Academy
Stonewall Jackson Elementary to Hidden Oaks Elementary School
Voters favor changing Lee High s name, narrow margins want to keep Andrew Jackson & Ribault news4jax.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from news4jax.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
What to know about voting for renaming school with Confederate names in Duval County
Polling centers are run by the Duval County Supervisor of Elections and are open daily from 10 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.
Credit: Jerry McGovern Author: Florida Times-Union, Emily Bloch Published: 10:44 PM EDT May 6, 2021 Updated: 10:46 PM EDT May 6, 2021
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Jaheim Bentley, a senior at Lee High School, took a detour during his school day last week at lunchtime. He submitted his vote in support of changing the school s name.
Bentley, who is a part of student government and is a member of the local I m A Star Foundation, where he mentors fifth and sixth-grade students, originally didn t plan on voting. But after thinking it through, he got into line early last Monday and said poll workers told him he was the first student to vote at the time.