The Montgomery County Board of Education is moving forward with renaming two of its schools even though doing so may go against state law.
On Thursday, the board voted to rename Robert E. Lee High School and Jefferson Davis High School, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.
Robert E. Lee High will be renamed after chemist Percy Julian, and Jefferson Davis High will be called "JAG," after Judge Frank Johnson; Rev. Ralph Abernathy and Rev. Robert Graetz.
The Montgomery School Board first voted to consider renaming the schools in 2020, even though it violated 2017's Alabama Memorial Preservation Act.
The act "prohibits the relocation, removal, alteration, renaming, or other disturbance of any monument located on public property which has been in place for 40 years or more" and specifically disallows the renaming of "monument schools."
Montgomery's Robert E. Lee High was established in 1955 and Jefferson Davis High in 1968.
The school board reportedly sought a waiver from the state to rename the schools. If the waiver is denied, the district could be fined $25,000 for each school it renames.
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