By LINDA CHION KENNEY
Fifty-three people lobbied collectively for six candidates before Hillsborough school board members voted 4-3 to name the upcoming high school in Wimauma for Aquilla Jackson Morgan, who taught at Wimuama Elementary School for 43 years.
From a list of 308 proposed names, including for people and geographic locations, and for this and other school namings, the speakers at the Sept. 5 meeting lobbied for their preferred choices.
Photos of High School UUU, in the flyer that asked for input about naming the school in Wimauma
Posthumous recognition goes to Morgan, who taught Head Start, kindergarten, second grade and fifth grade, and died on Sept. 21, 2022, at age 80. The remaining votes went to West Tampa native, lawyer and historian Emiliano Jose “E.J.” Salcines, a former state attorney and retired district court judge.
Speakers lobbied as well for educator and Wimauma activist Margaret Claritt; Sylvia Cantrell Albritton, a former teacher, principal and school district official; and Master Deputy Robert “Bobby” Howard of Ruskin, who died in an off-duty motorcycle crash in June 2023, after more than 17 years with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
One speaker at the Sept. 5 meeting, on behalf of his third great-grandfather, lobbied to name the school for Pleasant Franklin Stanland, born in 1853, who reportedly is the first known settler in the region that would become Wimuama. Collectively, 16 speakers supported Salcines; 14, Morgan; and 12, Albritton.
School board member Patti Rendon, before she cast her vote for Morgan, gave a nod to Captain Christopher Hartwell “Kit” Davis, who with his son-in-law, D.M. Dowdell, helped build the railroad that connected Turkey Creek to Bradenton. Having built a depot and post office at the mid-point between the two towns, Davis gave birth to the town that he named after the first letters of each of his daughter’s names — Wilma, Maude and Mary.
Family members who spoke in favor of Morgan said it was the third time they have asked to have a school named for Morgan, the first African-American teacher hired at Wimauma Elementary School after the Civil Rights Act passed in 1964.
Built at 5709 Hickman St. in 1926 to house students in grades 1 through 12, the Wimauma School became an elementary school in 1939 and today teaches children in pre-kindergarten through grade 5.
The historic elementary school is less than 2 miles from the $176 million, state-of-the-art, 359,000- square-foot high school campus, set to open in August 2025, at 1712 West Lake Drive. As the largest school ever built by the Hillsborough County school district, “High School UUU,” as it was known before its naming, is built to accommodate roughly 3,500 students.
East of Sun City Center and south of Balm, Wimauma now is home to Morgan High, built on an 87-acre tract that will include also an elementary school and middle school.
Aquilla Jackson Morgan, in a headshot released from the Hillsborough County School District, where she taught for 43 years at Wimauma Elementary School.
According to school officials, Morgan High will be the 33rd district school named for an African-American. Before the final vote, board members learned also that 11 schools are named for people of Italian descent, seven for people of Hispanic descent and 104 schools for persons of Caucasian descent.
Morgan received votes from school board members Rendon, Stacy Hahn, Henry “Shake” Washington and Jessica Vaughn. Salcines received votes from Nadia Combs, Lynn Gray and Karen Perez.
In pre-vote comments, Perez said she favored Salcines, given that 40 percent of the district’s students are Latinos, “and they need to be able to see [ the names of their schools] supporting the community and the Hispanic community.”
Noting that everyone on the list “is a remarkable person,” Hahn said she was moved by family members who gave “heartfelt accounts” of Morgan’s “spirit and loving nature and her deep commitment to the community.” Likewise mentioned were her “unwavering faith” and that these sentiments were shared by “friends, students and colleagues,” painting a beautiful portrait of a woman who lived, taught and raised her family in Wimauma.”
With a tough choice facing her, Gray said she wished she had a formula to make the task easier, as she recognized that during Hispanic Heritage Month, it is hard to discount the growing Hispanic enrollment, set to grow “to 53 percent in a few years,” and the impact that had on her vote for Salcines.
Combs likewise said it was “shocking to see that there are only seven schools named after Hispanic individuals in Hillsborough County” and that several schools recently have been named for educators, including Dorothy C. York Innovation Academy and Kenneth E. Adum K-8 Magnet School. Noting as well the widespread support Albritton had in community nods, Combs said she was “touched by people who came and talked about their teachers and mentors.”
Rendon made it clear that with the continued growth of Wimauma, what many call the gentrification of Wimauma, it’s imperative to select a name that represents “where Wimauma came from.” She said the decision was difficult, given the choices before the board, and that Claritt, herself, as a teacher with Wimauma roots, also was deeply involved in community life.
Photo of Aquilla J. Morgan, posted in her obituary. The new school’s namesake died in Sept. 21, 2022, at age 80.
Calling Morgan “the queen of Wimauma,” Washington said his decision likewise was difficult and that he wasn’t “taking anything away from Miss Albritton, because we were principals together, and she did a great job.”
Member Vaughn said she, too, found the decision difficult and especially so, given the “stacks of letters” to her house and having been “inundated” with text messages and emails. And while it’s “hard to cast one vote,” what gives her solace is that
“I know we have a lot more schools to name, and even if we don’t choose a person you are advocating for tonight, that does not mean we might not choose them [for another school].”
For a transcript of the Sept. 5 meeting and to view a video of the meeting, including public comments, visit www.hillsboroughschools.org and search for “view board meetings.”