In a recent editorial, Barrow Journal editor Chris Bridges writes the Barrow County Board of Education "had an out" in naming the new middle school off Jefferson Street in Statham. 

Students attending Winder-Barrow Middle School selected the name Bear Creek Middle School over Sims Middle School and a third option. According to Bridges, numerous Barrow County residents had hoped the new school would be named for Lafar D. Sims, a former educator and principal of various schools, including the black high school during segregation. The board of education followed suit and named the school Bear Creek. 

"Some school board members expressed that since it had been agreed on that the students would be the ones to decide the name, then BOE members couldn’t override that decision," Bridges writes, calling the decision "an out." 

Bridges goes on to address the recent arrest of a former Winder-Barrow Middle School teacher. 

Click here to read the full editorial. 

What do you think about the school's name? What about the board's decision to go with the vote of students? Tell us in comments. 

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