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Name recommendations for new Lee County high school announced

Posted at 11:13 AM, Oct 15, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-15 21:54:31-04

LEE COUNTY, Fla. -- The School District of Lee County is narrowing down the list of possible names for its new high school, and one name has a huge lead after public submissions.

The new school will be located off of State Road 82 and Griffin Drive. It’s expected open in the Fall of 2021.

Last month, the school district asked the public to send in their name suggestions for the school. Now the school board has narrowed the search down to 4 names that will be discussed Thursday in a meeting. If needed, another discussion will be held October 31st.

These are the top 4 names that met the board's criteria:

--Gateway High School (815 nominations)
--Thomas Edison High School (54 nominations)
--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. High School (41 nominations)
--Gabriela Mistral High School (19 nominations)

Other names with numerous nominations that did not meet the board's criteria included:

--Robert E. Lee High School (20 nominations -- "names that are likely to cause controversy should be avoided")
--Donald Trump High School (19 nominations -- no names of living individuals)
--Barack Obama High School (17 nominations)
--Adam Jobbers Miller High School (17 nominations)
--Southwest Florida High School (17 nominations -- "school names should not be generic, vague, or bland")

Additionally, Griffin High School/Gateway Griffin High School (128/17 nominations) did meet criteria, but is not being included due to potential confusion over the mascot of Gateway Charter High School.

A vote is scheduled to be held on November 5th.

Groundbreaking for the school is scheduled for November 13th.

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