The Houston Independent School District Board of Education voted Trustee Manuel Rodriguez in as its new president Thursday, welcomed two new members to the board of trustees and approved a resolution that formally begins the process of renaming four schools.
Rodriguez, a graduate of HISD's Stephen F. Austin High School, has served on the HISD Board of Education since 2003 and previously served as board president in 2007.
The HISD Board of Education swore in newly elected trustee Diana Davila who will represent east Houston and trustee Jolanda Jones, whose district includes Jack Yates High School and the DeBakey High School for Health Professions.
The HISD board of trustees also approved a resolution to rename four schools whose names are tied to Confederate figures: Henry Grady, Richard Dowling and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson middle schools, and Lee High School.
Past Board President Rhonda Skillern-Jones had pushed for the resolution, which she says will represent the values and diversity of the school district and match its non-discrimination policies.
In the renaming process, each campus has to form a school-naming committee with diverse staff, students, parents, and school stakeholders. That committee is supposed to explore school renaming options that follow board guidelines and submit recommendations to trustees by May.
Albert Sidney Johnston and Sidney Lanier middle schools, and Jefferson Davis and John Reagan high schools were originally on the name change list, but district officials say the board pulled them off Thursday evening to allow trustees time to meet with their respective communities before moving forward.