San Antonio Lee High School will be LEE High School

Legacy of Educational Excellence High School.

Effective next school year, that’s the new name North East Independent School District trustees, by a 5-2 vote Monday, decided will replace Lee High School, the name it has held since it opened in 1958.

When they voted unanimously in August that the name would change, several board members made it clear they didn’t think honoring the Confederate general was inappropriate but wanted to avoid the distraction of an ongoing controversy. Violent white supremacist protests in Virginia had rekindled the national debate about memorializing the Confederacy, including Lee, its most prominent military leader.

It seemed an open question whether Monday’s vote will end the debate over the school’s name. By design, it harkens to the original when used as an acronym — LEE — which drew both support and brickbats.

Board President Shannon Grona made the motion, which also maintains the Volunteers as the school’s mascot, calling it a compromise that would retain the school’s history while minimizing the complication and expense of reprinting and repainting a new name.

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