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Board agrees to shorten waiting period for naming facilities; moves toward two-year rule
Summary
The board considered amending the naming policy to reduce the required time an elected official must be out of office before a school can be named for them. Members favored aligning the period with other post-office restrictions and moved toward a two-year waiting period.
The Hillsborough County School Board discussed changes to Policy 7250 governing commemoration and naming of school facilities and indicated support for shortening the waiting period required before an elected official may be considered for a naming honor.
Staff said the current policy required a five-year waiting period after a person leaves elected office before the board will consider naming a facility for them. Member Rendon and Member Gray argued that two or three years is more consistent with other post-office restrictions and would expand the pool of eligible names. "I would like to bring it more in line with other things that are required of an elected person when they leave," Rendon said, and proposed three years, noting other statutes commonly use two-year restrictions.
Several board members favored two years for consistency with other district rules; Member Combs explicitly supported two years for alignment. The board agreed to revise the policy language to two years and to leave the decision of which names to approve with the board. Staff said naming decisions remain board driven and that the district has historically amended the policy several times.
No formal vote was recorded during the workshop; staff will prepare the language change for the next policy cycle.
