JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After months of voting, Duval County Public Schools on Wednesday will begin tabulating ballots cast for and against the renaming of nine Jacksonville schools that carry the names of Confederate officers or other controversial historical figures.
The DCPS School Renaming Canvassing Board will hold a meeting at 9 a.m. on Wednesday at the Supervisor of Elections Center to verify and tabulate ballots cast in the sometimes contentious push to rename Robert E. Lee High School, Stonewall Jackson Elementary and other schools.
A DCPS spokesperson said Tuesday if all goes as planned, the final results should be released on the district’s website later this week.
Counting the votes is one of the final steps in the drawn-out process that started in July 2020.
According to DCPS, once the votes are counted they will be given to Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene and she will then develop her recommendation and submit it to the School Board. News4Jax has asked if the results of the voting will be made publicly available.
Greene told News4Jax that while the vote will play a factor in her recommendation, the entire renaming process will be taken into consideration.
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The School Board will then consider the recommendation and accept it, reject it, or requests another name be proposed for consideration at a regularly scheduled school board meeting in June.
A University of North Florida poll released Tuesday may give a hint into how the voting went.
When asked about renaming Duval County Public Schools currently named after Confederate soldiers, 52% said they strongly or somewhat support it, while 48% said either oppose it either strongly or somewhat.
