Vitti would support changing Forrest High name

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Nikolai Vitti says he would support changing the name of Forrest High School if the community launched an effort to change it.

The Westside school is named for Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was a Confederate general during the Civil War.

Recommended Videos



But critics of the school's name point out he was also the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

In 2007, a group of parents, teachers and students voted to change the school's name to Firestone High School.

The school sits along Firestone Road.

The following year, that name change was rejected by the School Board.

Later, there was talk of renaming the school for Scott Speicher, the Navy pilot shot down during the first Gulf War, but no change was made. Speicher had attended Forrest High School.

Vitti says that ultimately it is the School Board's decision whether or not the name should change.