Minneapolis school board will consider renaming Patrick Henry High

Patrick Henry High School may soon have a new name: Camden High School.

Minneapolis Interim Superintendent Rochelle Cox will make the official recommendation to the school board Tuesday, potentially turning the page on the yearlong process to choose a new moniker for the north Minneapolis school.

If the board approves the new name in a vote Dec. 12, the school will officially become Camden High next school year.

"The board either has the right to approve that name change or they could provide other direction," district spokeswoman Donnie Belcher said.

A renaming committee gave Cox two potential names based on the most-popular choices of the 324 options submitted by the public, the board said in a statement Friday on the district website. Cox chose Camden over Victory.

Camden would match the name of the neighborhood where the school is located.

Board approval in December would also initiate the process to choose a mascot and school colors, according to the district.

Students have for years lobbied the school board to remove Patrick Henry's name from the school because the 18th-century Virginia politician enslaved people. In 2018, alumni stalled the effort, but last April, the board voted unanimously to rename the school.

The change would be the third renaming of a district school since 2020. Last year, Sheridan Dual Language Elementary was renamed Las Estrellas and Jefferson Elementary was renamed Ella Baker.