Midland ISD board adopts revised naming policy after public comments on Lee/Legacy High School

Brandon Hodges, president of the Midland Independent School District Board of Trustees, and the board on July 29 unanimously approved a revised local policy (CW local) that adds a sixth naming criterion: “Any person who has not openly advocated or participated in war against The United States Of America.” The board approved the amendment after a public comment period in which multiple speakers urged the trustees either to keep the name Legacy High School or to acknowledge the full history behind the former Lee High School name.

The adoption followed more than an hour of public remarks. Rick Davis, one of several speakers opposing a return to the Lee name, said the name was tied to the Confederacy and segregation: “The naming of Lee High School was not intended to make a statement anyone should be proud of,” he said. Jane Wolf, who said she grew up near Richmond, Virginia, told trustees that Robert E. Lee’s name is “forever indelibly connected to the enslavement and ownership of human beings.” Other speakers, including John and Erin Ocote and Louis Weldon, echoed concerns about the historical associations and the impact on students.

Trustee McAfee proposed the specific amendment added to CW local that would exclude from consideration for facility names anyone who had “openly advocated or participated in war against The United States Of America.” The motion to add that language was seconded and passed by unanimous voice/hand vote. The board then voted, again unanimously, to approve CW local with the new criterion as part of the revised local policies packet.

Board members discussed committee review and the policy’s origin; administration staff said a naming policy was first adopted in 2024 because no local policy existed previously. Trustee Burleson asked that such policy changes go through committee review in future. The board also approved a related new policy (BBB local) on post-election procedures and other consent agenda items after limited discussion.

The board chair and superintendent noted the naming matter was not on the printed agenda as an action item; trustees handled the local-policy revision as a pulled consent item and adopted it under the consent/action procedure. The vote to add the “war against The United States” language and to adopt CW local with that language was recorded as unanimous by the trustees present.

The policy change does not itself rename or place any particular name on a facility; it sets a local standard for future naming decisions. Trustees said the policy is intended to expand options available to future boards and to provide clearer guidance, while some public commenters warned that certain name changes erase historical context. The board did not adopt or direct a specific renaming today.