Local

Orange County middle school removes image of Robert E. Lee

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orange County middle school has removed the image of Robert E. Lee and received a firestorm of criticism.
 
Lee Middle School quietly removed the image in the wake of South Carolina's decision to remove the Confederate flag from its capital.
 
The image of Lee that faced Maury Road did not include the Confederate flag and some think the district is going too far.
 
There has also been talk about changing the name this school and another school completely.
 
A picture of Lee remains on the school's website, but it's believed that it too will be gone soon.
 
"An administrative decision was made to remove the mascot on our building this morning to prevent discomfort for the school community given recent media attention to Confederate symbols," principal Cynthia Haupt said in an phone call Friday night.
 
Former Lee Middle School student Rickey Lawrence said he's very upset with the altering of the school's appearance.
 
Channel 9 was told a school board member is planning to bring up a discussion about possibly changing the names of Lee and Jackson Middle, the latter named for Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson.
 
Former student's told Channel 9 the removal of Lee's image makes them feel their pride in the school is wrong.
 
The district said it will not take action at the July 28 meeting.