The vote is in. Manatee School Board finalizes name for middle school in Palmetto

The School Board of Manatee County had an easy decision to make on Tuesday evening.

Starting on April 22, the school district began accepting nominations to rename the middle school at 305 17th St. E. in Palmetto. More than 120 people offered their ideas and one prevailed by far.

Nearly 60 people suggested Lincoln Memorial Middle School, and with a unanimous 4-0 vote, the School Board approved the name at Tuesday’s meeting.

“We have had plenty of opportunity to hear from the community, and they have spoken very loudly to support Lincoln Memorial Middle School,” Chairman Charlie Kennedy said.

The “new” name, Lincoln Memorial Middle, was the school’s name before it converted to a charter and became Lincoln Memorial Academy in the 2018-2019 school year.

The academy made it one year before the school board voted to terminate its charter and reclaim its campus in 2019, citing concerns with the school’s leadership and finances. The campus — which is reverting back to a traditional school — needed a new name before the school year begins in August.

James Golden, the School Board’s vice chair, noted that most nominations included the word “Lincoln” or “Memorial,” paying tribute to the school’s history.

The campus was home to Lincoln Memorial High School, which was born out of a merger between Lincoln High School and Memorial High School in the late 1940s.

It was the only option for Black students during segregation, and many Lincoln Memorial Trojans went on to become successful entrepreneurs, educators, athletes and community leaders.

Though the high school closed in 1969, as Manatee County began integrating its schools, the name “Lincoln Memorial” will forever be important to Palmetto’s history.

The same is true for Lincoln Memorial’s history of high-achieving students and alumni, a legacy that was slipping away, school leaders said in 2017.

At that time, when families and school employees voted to convert Lincoln Memorial Middle School to a charter, they were signaling the need for change. They said a traditional education was failing the students.

The charter school — and its plan for character education, sports and career exposure — ultimately collapsed, but the desire for more resources and innovation at Lincoln Memorial remain.

In response to calls for a better education at the Title I campus, the School Board voted last March to include a magnet program at Lincoln Memorial, offering students the chance to explore careers in the medical industry.

The school will reopen with its new name and medical program in the upcoming 2021-22 school year.

This story was originally published June 22, 2021 at 8:56 PM with the headline "The vote is in. Manatee School Board finalizes name for middle school in Palmetto."