Help Us Keep The Robert E. Lee High School Name

NAMING OR RENAMING SCHOOLS 8.59

I. The School Board will name or rename schools. Community input is desired and highly valued; however, the School Board has final authority over the name of any
school.

II. Naming a New School

A. The Superintendent (or his designee) shall initiate the naming of a new school. The Superintendent shall establish procedures for naming a new school, which include soliciting community input from the following:

1. SAC of the school;
2. PTA of the school;
3. Students of the school;
4. Community members within the school’s attendance zone; and
5. Members of the school’s faculty and staff.

B. The Superintendent shall offer a proposed name to the School Board for its decision by a vote of the Board. The School Board may, after considering the Superintendent’s recommendation, request another name be proposed for its consideration, until the Board approves the name of the school.

III. Renaming an Existing School

A. The Superintendent, any School Board member, or one of the initiating entities named below, may submit a written request to the School Board during a regular Board meeting, requesting the Board rename an existing school. An “initiating entity” is defined as:

1. SAC of the school;
2. PTA of the school;
3. At least 75% of the school’s students;
4. Alumni of the school (the minimum number of which is at least 75% of the school’s current student body population, as evidenced by a signed petition indicating the graduate’s name and graduation year)*; or
5. Community members within the school’s attendance zone (the minimum number of which is at least 75% of the school’s current student body population, as evidenced by a signed petition indicating the community member’s name and address within the attendance zone)*.

*Note: The district will have no obligation to verify the accuracy of the petitions presented.

B. Upon receipt of the written request described in subsection III.A. above, the School Board shall decide by a majority vote of the Board whether to accept the written request and refer the matter to the Superintendent for further review. If the School Board accepts the written request, then the Superintendent shall establish procedures for renaming the school, which include soliciting community input from the following:

1. SAC of the school;
2. PTA of the school;
3. Students of the school;
4. Community members within the school’s attendance zone;
5. Members of the school’s faculty and staff; and
6. Alumni of the school.

C. The Superintendent shall offer to the School Board for its decision by a vote of the Board, either a proposed new name to the Board or recommend no change to the school’s existing name. The School Board may, after considering the submission of the Superintendent’s recommendation, accept or reject the recommendation, or request another name be proposed for its consideration, until the Board makes a final determination of the petition to rename the school.

IV. Requirements applicable to naming or renaming a school:

A. The name of the school shall not be of a person (whether living or deceased); and
B. The name shall not be in conflict with an existing name of a school.

V. Adjustment to the Name of a School

A. The School Board shall consider requests for the Adjustment of a School Name that meets the requirements below. A request for a school name change shall be considered an Adjustment to the School Name if the following conditions are met:

1. The main portion of the name of the school shall not be changed;
2. The requested adjustment provides additional information about the program at the school;
3. The requested adjustment will require only minimal changes to school signage, school colors, team mascots, team uniforms, school logos, and other impacted areas; and
4. The school support organizations will bear the costs of the adjustment to the school name, with any district support outlined and budgeted prior to the approval of the name adjustment.

B. The school principal will submit a request for a school name adjustment to the Superintendent, indicating the requested change. The school principal will include with the request the following documentation:

1. Rationale for the adjustment;
2. SAC approval for the name adjustment, including public notice of meeting, SAC membership, agenda, and minutes of the meeting where the recommendation was approved;
3. PTA approval for the name adjustment;
4. Approval from members of the school’s faculty and staff through the school’s shared governance process;
5. Student approval for the name adjustment;
6. Listing of any necessary changes as a result of the adjustment, to include by not limited to changes to signage, stationary, and team uniforms; and
7. Budget for all costs, to include funding source(s).

C. The Superintendent shall review the request of the school for the name adjustment and shall offer to the School Board for its decision by a vote of the Board, either a proposed name adjustment to the Board or recommend no change to the school’s existing name. The School Board may, after considering the submission of the Superintendent’s recommendation, accept or reject the recommendation, or request another name be proposed for its consideration, until the Board makes a final determination of the petition to adjust the name of the school.

D. Requirements applicable to adjusting the name of a school:

1. The adjustment to the name of the school shall not include the addition of the name of a person (whether living or deceased);
2. The adjustment to the name shall not be in conflict with an existing name of a school;
3. The adjustment to the name may not create an undue financial hardship on the school community, either to support organizations through changes to the school’s facilities or by requirements to families to purchase new articles with the adjusted name, such as school uniforms, jackets, planners, and extracurricular
expenditures solely on the basis of the name adjustment; and
4. The approval of the name adjustment is contingent upon sufficient funds being raised in order to fully implement all aspects of the name adjustment, and shall be effective upon the district’s verification that all funds have been secured.