A resident of Midland is filing a lawsuit against MISD about the name change of Lee High School.

According to NewsWest 9, the lawsuit is a delay tactic commonly used when someone wants to delay a decision on a particular matter.

This matter is the renaming of Robert E. Lee High School and the man who filed the lawsuit is Jeremy Shane Mansell. He has asked for a temporary restraining order on the name change.

The lawsuit asks for a declaratory judgement as well on the grounds that the school board did not comply with the Texas Education Code.

Board President Rick Davis released a statement on the lawsuit:

"Today, I was forwarded a copy of a lawsuit purportedly filed by a Midland County resident concerning the MISD Board of Trustees’ July 27, 2020 decision to re-name Robert E. Lee High School and Robert E. Lee Freshman School.  The crux of the suit appears to be that the Board did not have the legal authority to make that decision.  In making that allegation, the Plaintiff refers to statutes that are not applicable to a school board’s school-naming decision.  Contrary to what the Plaintiff alleges, the MISD Board of Trustees has the legal authority to make school-naming decisions just like the MISD Board of Trustees had in 1961 when the school was first named and every year since. 

The suit also alleges that MISD unlawfully accepted and considered an online petition regarding the name change. While the Board was aware of petitions both for and against changing the name of Robert E. Lee High School and Freshman School, the Board did not create or receive these petitions.

A recording of the meeting is available at https://www.midlandisd.net/Page/33198, and any member of the public who wished to do so was able to watch the meeting live at midlandisd.net/stream or call in during the public comment period.

Because I have not actually been served with the lawsuit, it is my hope that the Plaintiff will voluntarily choose to dismiss it."

We will see how this all plays out soon. As the old saying goes "Stay Tuned."

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