The school board in the North East (Texas) Independent District has decided not to remove the name Robert E. Lee from one of its high schools.

KENS-TV reports that the board's vote on the proposed name change came after a student at Robert E. Lee High in San Antonio began a petition drive earlier this year to change the name.

The petition drive was one of many efforts to remove symbols of the Confederacy from public places that gained momentum this summer after nine African Americans were shot to death in June at a church in Charleston, S.C.

The high school in the North East district is named for Lee, who led the Confederate Army in the American Civil War.

​Board members have been inundated with emails and calls from people on both sides of the debate, and Monday was the first time they addressed the issue at a public meeting.

The final vote was 5 to 2 in opposition to the proposal. The board also asked the district administration to review all of Lee High School's Confederate symbols, songs, and mascots, and prepared a report to the board in the next few months.