Taking a cue from the John Kasich and [crscore]Ted Cruz[/crscore] campaigns a Texas school district is trying to circumvent the wild popularity of Donald Trump.
The Austin Independent School District voted last month to rename their Robert E. Lee Elementary School because its once hallowed namesake, the Confederate general, is considered quite racially offensive these days.
The District solicited new names and Trump’s was the overwhelming favorite. “Donald J. Trump Elementary School” received 45 out of 240 nominations. Austin photographer Russell Lee was the second most popular new choice with 32. Novelist Harper Lee was favorited by 30 people. Raul Castro, Adolf Hitler and Spike Lee also garnered a smattering of support. The nominations were nonbinding suggestions.
The top three contenders were scheduled to be presented to the school board next month. But Monday, after an avalanche of negative publicity, the school district vacated Trump’s nomination.
In a Monday statement that entirely omitted the pro-Trump tally, the District said that after “a robust community engagement process, the Lee Elementary School’s Campus Advisory Council announced it has identified eight names to be considered for the renaming of Lee Elementary School.”
“The community submitted hundreds of names from which the eight were chosen.”
“From the eight, the CAC will submit three of these names to the Board on May 3, which is scheduled to take action on a new name on May 23. The council has reached out to local proponents of [these eight] candidates to share more information about their submissions and why they feel they would be a worthy namesake of the school.”
The official descriptions plus paltry vote tallies that the District omitted:
Barbara Smith Conrad — Internationally acclaimed African-American opera star who completed her studies at the University of Texas despite discrimination-based setbacks. 1 vote.
Bettie Mann — Beloved former Lee Elementary School teacher of more than 35 years and the first African-American educator at Lee Elementary School. Three folks picked her.
Elisabeth Ney — Celebrated sculptor and neighborhood resident who emigrated from Germany and is the subject of a popular local museum. She got 15 nominations.
Harper Lee — Iconic American novelist best known for “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Kenneth Ragsdale — Former Austin ISD director of music and founder of the band program at Lee Elementary School. Despite these Olympian achievements he apparently got zero nominations.
Russell Lee — Neighborhood resident, founding University of Texas photography professor and a critically acclaimed Depression-era photographer.
Waller Creek — Notable local geographic feature shared by neighborhoods served by Lee Elementary School. 5 nods.
Wheeler’s Grove — Original name of Eastwoods Park, a longtime Juneteenth celebration site and gathering space for historic freedman’s community. 8 nominations.
Austin Independent School District flack Tiffany Young did not respond to questions about who made the decision to drop Trump from consideration and why.
The Washington Gadfly has filed an open records request for any relevant emails sent or received by Austin school officials since the results were announced.
Stay tuned.