ST PAUL, Minn. — Students and parents from Linwood-Monroe Plus school spent a year working on a name change and now they've convinced the St. Paul School Board to go along with the idea.
Principal Bryan Bass said students, staff and parents all had an opportunity to vote, and he was confident they followed all of the procedures laid out by district policies. The name they've agreed upon is Global Arts Plus, which will happen at the same time that the school adds a second campus.
Students and others were bothered that the school's namesake, President James Monroe, was a slave owner. They also argued the new name better reflects the student body and teaching staff at the arts magnet school.
For decades the building was home to Monroe High School, which had its last graduating class in 1977. Monroe alum Al Hanzal launched a petition drive to stop the move and garnered 500 online signatures plus 200 paper signatures.
Hanzal and other alums asserted the school anchored that part of the West Seventh Street community for generations. They say they're worried the area will lose part of its identity and history.
Dave Bredemus, a retired history teacher at Monroe, said most people don't associate the name on the building -- Monroe Community School -- with the nation's fifth president.
Hanzal said he had hoped to see a community-wide meeting where alums and area residents had a chance to fully debate the idea, but that wasn't encouraged at the listening sessions hosted by the school's consultant.
The board voted six to one in favor of the idea Tuesday night, with most members saying the want to focus on the needs of current students. Several board members framed the issue as an opportunity to help students overcome historical trauma of racism and slavery.
"It's important that we respect our history, but we’re not bound by it to our detriment," Steve Marchese, the board's vice chair, remarked.