Abilene ISD Responds to Demand to Erase Confederate Names from Schools

ABILENE, TX — A few days after a petition was launched to rename four elementary schools on Abilene named after confederate leaders, the Abilene ISD Board of Trustees released a statement regarding the controversial issue.

According to KTXS, the original petition only sought 200 signatures but has now been expanded to 2,500. As of Friday morning, over 1,500 people have signed the petition.

“With this petition, the undersigned call on Dr. David Young, the rest of the AISD Administration, and the AISD Board of Trustees to quickly move to change the names of these four schools. We also ask that the new names honor those who have promoted the values to which our community now aspires,” stated organizer Zach Snyder in the petition. “We want for this petition to serve as the first step towards making this happen, and we recognize that many who lead the district share our values and will want to join alongside us to make this change.”

The four schools in question are:

• Robert E. Lee Elementary
• Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson Elementary
• Albert Sidney Johnston Elementary
• John H. Reagan Elementary

The Abilene ISD board announced they will be creating an “appropriate process to hear from our community stakeholders and make student-centered decisions moving forward.”

The full statement can be seen below:

“The Abilene Independent School District recognizes the conversation regarding the re-naming of schools is of great significance not just in Abilene, but across the country. The need for this important discussion comes at the same time many other meaningful conversations regarding race in our schools and communities are beginning to take place.”

“The Abilene ISD is committed to equality in our school district in every facet of its operation. This commitment will be the driving force behind our discussions in these areas. Recent events in our country will provide the board the opportunity to have an open dialogue about the re-naming of Jackson, Johnston, Reagan, and Lee elementary schools.”

“Internal discussions among the AISD Board of Trustees and district administrators about the topic of re-naming schools have begun and those conversations will become more involved in the coming days. We will design an appropriate process to hear from our community stakeholders and make student-centered decisions moving forward.”