Renaming of Lincoln Memorial Academy approaches. There’s time to submit a nomination

The Manatee County School Board will hold a public hearing on the renaming of Lincoln Memorial Academy next week.

Formerly known as Lincoln Memorial Middle School, the campus in Palmetto became LMA after families and school employees voted to convert from a traditional campus to a charter school.

That charter lasted one year before school board members voted to reclaim the campus in July 2019, citing concerns with LMA’s leadership and finances. After fending off a legal challenge by the charter’s former leaders, the district is now working with the Florida Department of Education to essentially register the campus as a new school.

Converting back to a traditional public school requires a new name for the campus at 305 17th St. E.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the School Board will hold a public hearing to accept public comments, review nominations and cast votes on the new name. The meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the School Support Center, 215 Manatee Ave. W.

Nominations will be accepted up to and during Tuesday’s meeting. As of this week, the school district has received at least 124 nominations, including one clear front-runner.

Fifty-six people voted for Lincoln Memorial Middle School, the school’s name before it became a charter. That was followed by Lincoln Middle School (nine nominations) and Lincoln Memorial (six nominations).

There are several ways to submit a nomination through Tuesday:

• Email nominations to communications@manateeschools.net.
• Call the district communications office at 941-708-8770, extension 41225.
• Mail nominations to The School District of Manatee County, P.O. Box 9069, Bradenton 34206-9069.
• Deliver nominations to the school’s main office, 305 17th St. E., Palmetto, during school hours.

• Submit nominations in person at the School Support Center, 215 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.

• Verbalize nominations during public comments at school board meetings, public hearings or workshops.

There are also several ways to watch Tuesday’s meeting from home. School Board meetings are broadcast live on Spectrum Channel 646 and Frontier Channel 39, along with the Manatee Schools Television website, mstv.us.