HAYS COUNTY, Texas (Talk1370.com) -- The Rebels will soon be no more in Hays County.
Hays CISD trustees voted 7-0 Thursday night during a special called board meeting to retire the Rebel mascot at Hays High School, ending a 20-year effort to remove imagery with Confederate ties from the campus.
"When a mascot mires the school in political controversy and pits students, families, and community members against each other; it is time to change," district administrators said in a press release announcing their recommendation earlier this month.
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The Confederate flag was removed from the school as an official symbol in 2000; it was banned from display on any district property in 2012. The school stopped using Dixie as its fight song in 2015.
A decision on the new mascot will be made later, officials said. A comprehensive mascot selection process will begin when students return to campus, and officials said it may take much of the 2020-21 school year to fully retire the Rebel mascot.