Principals: School name change plans lack support

The leaders of three schools named after Confederate generals said there is no support for a name change.

“I’ve had very few parents come and give me their opinion about the name,” said Theressa Manzanedo, the principal of Stand Watie Elementary. “They just know that Stand Watie is their elementary school and they care very much about their school.”

Manzanedo said she doesn’t really have an opinion about the name and is “more worried about the students inside.”

The same goes for her staff.

“They’re more concerned about what goes on inside the building than what goes on outside,” she said.

Lee Elementary School Principal Amy Daugherty said renaming the school, 424 SW 29, is not a priority based on feedback she’s received from staff, parents and community members.

“They very clearly stated that they did not want the name changed, that it’s history for them,” she said. “Many of them don’t care who the school was named after, they just know it as Lee Elementary.”

At Jackson Enterprise Elementary School, 2601 S Villa, Principal Patrick Duffy said he has “not fielded any phone calls or concerns or complaints.”

“I want to make sure when they come to school they feel comfortable and

safe and that includes the name of the school as well as what takes place inside the school,” he said. “If that requires a name change then we should have a name change.”

Last month, following racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Aurora Lora said that some facilities named after “historical” figures do not “reflect our values in 2017.”

She will present a plan for community engagement to the school board on Sept. 25. Members, who have the authority to rename a school, will decide if and how they would like to proceed.

While a majority of school board members have said they would be in favor of renaming schools named after Confederate officers, some have questioned the need for Lora to engage the communities surrounding the schools.

Charles Henry addressed the school namesakes and their link to slavery at Tuesday night’s board meeting.

Henry, who is black, said public input isn’t necessary. He said the men for whom the schools are named represent “symbols of slavery.”

“I encourage the board to vote unanimously to remove these names without any need to hear from others,” Henry said at the meeting. “Legalized rape, legalized murder, legalized child molestation should never be honored or tolerated.”

Board member Carrie Coppernoll Jacobs said she thinks the schools should be renamed but questions the need for public input.

“I agree with (Henry), that we don’t necessarily need community meetings about whether to change the name,” she said. “My concern is that it’s going to be a platform for hate. I don’t want it to attract people who are going to say hateful things about our students.”

Jacobs, who represents Jackson, said she has received a lot of feedback on the issue and “some of it has been flat-out racist.”

“Not all of it, but some of it has been awful and those people don’t get a platform in a real conversation about the future names of those schools,” she said.

“I think it’s always wise to communicate with the communities, but in this case since it’s such a divisive issue, I think it’s going to attract people who don’t have the right to be part of the conversation.”

Jackson, Lee and Stand Watie, 3517 S Linn, are

south Oklahoma City schools that serve mostly Hispanic students.

School board member Rebecca Budd, whose district does not include one of the three schools, said most of the responses she is getting are not coming from the directly affected areas.

“They’re coming from the larger Oklahoma City area,” she said. “The communities themselves are not responding.”

Budd pointed out that board policy doesn’t require community engagement when it comes to renaming a school.

“I think we have a great board policy and if members of the community would like to see the name changed they have the opportunity to submit alternatives for us to consider, which provides those communities opportunities to voice their desires,” she said.