Another public meeting about changing the names of certain public schools in Duval County is planned for Wednesday morning.
That’s as momentum is gaining steam in the campaign to change the names. For one, a billboard has gone up on Interstate-10 near Downtown supporting efforts by the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville to change the public school names that honor white supremacists.
The billboard was paid for by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). SPLC’s Lecia Brooks told WJCT News why the billboard says “Stop playing games! Change the names!”
“The school board not being responsive to their requests to change these school names is engaging in game playing; that they want the names changed and the SPLC believes that communities should be able to decide what they want to see in public space and we support their efforts,” Brooks said.
Although the public has been invited to vote on potential name changes, the Duval County Public Schools board said those votes are non-binding, and that it will make the final decisions.
The billboard comes at the same time that local philanthropist Delores Barr Weaver is offering a $50,000 match toward paying for the cost of the renaming process. She's urging the public to contribute $100,000 to unlock her gift.
The school board will take public comments at 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 19, at the Supervisor of Elections Center at 1 Imeson Park Blvd. on the Northside.
Michelle Corum can be reached at mcorum@wjct.org, 904-358-6308 or on Twitter at @MCorumonME.
