BEAUMONT, Texas — The battle for renaming Beaumont Independent School District's stadium is over for now.
The motion to rename Memorial Stadium failed by a 5-2 vote at Beaumont ISD's Thursday board meeting.
The board met to decide whether to change Memorial Stadium back to its original name, the Carrol 'Butch' Thomas Educational Support Center, honoring the former superintendent.
At least three board members requested for the decision to be revisited on the May election ballot.
The back-and-forth divided the city two years ago. In 2018, the board of managers voted to change the name to Memorial Stadium. They felt it would "heal division" in the community.
Superintendent Carrol Thomas' administration was accused of mismanaging a $389 million bond back in 2007, which funded the stadium.
That eventually led to the state taking control of the district's operations. That's why some supported the name change two years ago.
Thursday’s vote comes after at least two board of trustees asked that it become an agenda item, which has left the community split about what should happen.
The school board had this item on the agenda in December but they took no action because some board members were absent.
Beaumont ISD votes against renaming Memorial Stadium at Thursday board meeting
