Edinburg residents renew calls to rename Robert E. Lee Elementary after five-year delay

Dozens of community members asked the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees on April 4 to complete a renaming of Robert E. Lee Elementary that voters approved in a 2020 process, saying the school’s Confederate namesake sends an exclusionary message to students.

Speakers framed the issue as both a broken promise and a matter of equity for students. “I humbly ask that you take this article home with you and read it after the meeting,” said Margarita Gonzales, who identified herself as an Edinburg resident and attendee, noting community outreach and roughly 300 emails to the board. “I ask that, after you read this article, you take some time to speak with each other about the behavior and the message that collectively ECISD is conveying to the public through its inaction on renaming the racistly named Robert E. Lee Elementary School.”

The nut graf: commenters said the district formally began a renaming process in 2020 that favored changing the name, and they urged trustees to implement that outcome rather than leave the name in place. They framed completion of the renaming as symbolic but consequential to how students — particularly Black and Latino children — experience school.

Multiple speakers recounted local roots and civic concerns. Michael Sanchez said he was worried that the district’s delay signals that “the district … is run by people who do not respect protocol or procedure,” and that community trust is at stake after five years without action. Maria Hernandez, who said she is an ECISD graduate and a first-generation college graduate, told trustees that a school’s name “sends a message about who we admire, who we honor, and who we want our students to look up and embody.” She suggested names that reflect local contributors rather than Confederate leaders.

Other speakers invoked history and morality. Jonathan Craig cited the Confederate constitution to argue that Robert E. Lee represented a political project that defended slavery, writing that “fighting for the right to commit trafficking and enslavement of human beings is not something that should be celebrated and honored.” Jacob Betchell, who said he was born in Edinburg, told trustees he was disgusted children still see the name daily near his grandmother’s house and urged board members to “honor the promise you made through that referendum.”

Board procedure and public comment rules were also discussed at the start of the public-comment period. Legal counsel Ben Castillo explained the board’s ability to shorten individual speaking times when many people signed up; the board adjusted limits to give more speakers an opportunity.

Ending: Trustees did not announce a follow-up timetable on the renaming during the meeting. Public comments on the topic occupied a substantial portion of the allotted comment time, and speakers said they intend to continue organized outreach until the board completes the renaming process voters initiated in 2020.