Mascots were up for discussion at two school board meetings this week, with the Port Huron Area School Board deciding to pause its discussion as they determine the cost of rebranding at three schools, while the Sandusky board shared updates on the newly formed mascot committee.
Both meetings were held Monday night, with Superintendent Theodore Kerhoulas saying at Port Huron’s meeting that the district still needs to access what needs to be changed in the buildings of Port Huron High, Michigamme Elementary and Roosevelt Elementary Schools, and how much it costs. According to the Times Herald, Kerhoulas said that the board will revisit the discussion around the three mascots in questions– the Big Reds, Little Chiefs and Little Reds– at either the upcoming October meeting or in November once the costs have been determined.
Meanwhile, at Sandusky’s meeting, during public comment, Redskin mascot supporters Wilma Henderson and Rick Speigal claimed that they raised over $2500 to mail surveys pertaining to the mascot to upwards of 4500 Sandusky residents, with the hope to raise about $1400 more to meet their goal.
During the board’s official mascot discussion, Board member Jane Jacobson shared that the first meeting for the committee was held to discuss criteria going forward. Clarifying on previous criteria such as no sports team names– the district wants to avoid sharing a name with a local Michigan team– and adding another, such as the name ideally being two syllables for cheers and songs, the committee was able to take 200 names collected from the past several surveys by the school and narrow them down to 57 options to be discussed at the committee’s Tuesday meeting.
Once narrowed down more, the final contenders will be submitted to the local newspaper for public comment.
While Spiegal and Henderson are hoping to mail out their survey by the November election, it is unclear if there is a deadline in mind for the committee.
Also at Monday’s meeting, the Sandusky school board entered a closed session to discuss Superintendent Paul Flynn’s contract amid some tension following several comments and accusations thrown at Flynn during public comment. Ultimately, they did not take public action on the superintendent’s contract Monday night.
