Ben Carson, other Detroit schools could be in for name change

Lori Higgins | Detroit Free Press

Could Ben Carson's name be on the way out for a Detroit high school? And will Aretha Franklin's name make it onto a school?

The Detroit Board of Education Tuesday night approved a process for seeking new names for several existing schools — including the Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine — and several new schools expected to open in 2019.

The science and medicine-themed school was named after the Detroit native before he became a member of President Donald Trump's cabinet. It was a decision made when the district was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager.

Some board members, including LaMar Lemmons, have pushed for removing Carson's name from the school.

The board earlier this year approved a policy regarding the naming of schools — changes that paved the way for a change in the name of the Carson school. The Carson school is now operating in a building that previously held Crockett Career and Technical Center.

Here are other existing schools that could be in for a name change: Harms Elementary School, Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men and Detroit School of the Arts. Meanwhile, several new schools — including a Latin school and a school that will be located on the campus of Marygrove College — need names.

In addition to the call for Carson's name to be removed from a school, some have also called on the district to name a school after the late Aretha Franklin. Potentially, that could happen at Detroit School of the Arts.

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More: A school named for Aretha Franklin? Detroit schools' chief ponders

The policy allows the board to change names of existing schools under the following circumstances:

To commemorate individuals who have made a significant contribution to the enhancement of education

If a school facility is newly built or redesigned

If the name of a school doesn't reflect the current school population

If the community of the geographic area where the school is located requests a name change that more closely aligns with the history of the locality

If information newly discovered about the current name of the school is negative in nature.

Tuesday's action doesn't mean the name of that school — or the others on the list — will change. But it does mean the process of changing a name, which includes seeking input from stakeholders via meetings and surveys, will begin.

Board member Sonya Mays raised questions about the plan to move ahead.

"I think there are probably other places where staff could be spending their time," Mays said.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said some of the work to seek input from various stakeholders would happen at the school level.

"I don't think it's overwhelming to where we'll lose focus of our core mission and work."

Contact Lori Higgins: 313-222-6651, lhiggins@freepress.com or @LoriAHiggins