Austin Independent School District trustees voted to change Lanier High School’s name to Juan Navarro High School Monday night. Trustees approved the name change in a vote of 5-2, with Amber Elenz and Jayme Mathias voting against and Kristin Ashy abstaining from the vote. Cindy Anderson was absent. Mathias explained that his vote of opposition was due to the last-minute nature of the new name choice, which he worried was not properly vetted by the community. Juan Navarro was a former Lanier student and a U.S. Army officer who was killed in Afghanistan in 2012. His name on the school will replace that of Confederate soldier Sidney Lanier, pending a review of district policies and a background check on Navarro.
Elizabeth Pagano is the editor of the Austin Monitor. More by Elizabeth Pagano