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Washington-Lee HS in Virginia may soon be renamed Washington-Loving despite lawsuit

Just as a lawsuit over the matter heads to court, members of a committee charged with choosing a new name are speaking out saying that the process up to now was a sham.

ARLNIGON, Va. -- The fight over changing the name of Washington-Lee High School is picking up steam.

Just as a lawsuit over the matter heads to court, members of a committee charged with choosing a new name are speaking out saying that the process up to now was a sham.

"The process was very unfair," said Julie Crull, an alum of Washington-Lee High School, named after two generals, George Washington and Robert E. Lee.

RELATED: Washington-Lee HS in Virginia could be renamed after interracial couple

The Arlington County School Board voted last summer to ditch the name Robert E. Lee because he led the Confederacy in its fight to keep slavery legal.

The board picked a committee to chose a new name. Julie Crull was on that committee as a representative of the alumnae.

"If the school board really did want to look at the community and their feeling, that they really did not do it," Crull said.

She and other alums say most of the community wants to keep the name.

In protest, Crull abstained from voting. Two other members quit the committee in protest. One is Patrice Kelly who has a daughter at Washington-Lee.

"The process was so manipulative, we were told not to express our opinions...We were brought in as members of the community and instead we were manipulated and directed to vote in a certain way...and at that point I realized this was not an opportunity to provide community input. This was to play a role as a puppet in a predestined conclusion," said Kelly.

Kelly said there was an effort underway to pick another Lee, either To Kill A Mockingbird author Harper Lee or William Lee, who was George Washington's servant freed upon the first President's death.

Kelly said they were told to only express their opinions with regard to the names they were "being fed." One of those was Loving, the committee chose Loving.

Student Chloe Slater was on the committee and voted for Washington-Loving.

"I like the name Washington-Loving because to me it just represents diversity that Washington-Lee has as well as inclusion and acceptance," said Slater.

RELATED: Washington-Lee students sue Arlington Co. Schools over renaming high school

But several alums and community members say most people in the community want to keep the name Washington-Lee.

Dean Fleming with the Alumni Association said that sentiment is evident in hundreds of emails sent.

Washington-Lee mom Toni DeLancey said there's good reason to keep the name Lee.

"I'm also a graduate of West Point and my husband was a graduate of West Point. Robert E. Lee is a graduate of West Point. West Point graduates are willing to lay down their life for their fellow man and that's honorable. That's what I chose to focus on when I look at this man," said DeLancey.

A lawsuit by two students and alums who want to keep the name heads to court this Wednesday.

Despite the lawsuit, the name change appears to be moving forward. On Thursday, the renaming committee will present its recommendations to the Arlington School Board.

The two recommendations are Washington- Loving and as a backup, Washington-Liberty.

The Arlington School Board is scheduled to officially chose the new name for Washington-Lee High School on January 10th.

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