Wildcat nickname hangs in balance
Staff writer
Ten community members filled 12 chairs set out for them at a school board meeting Monday night in Marion.
After the board’s president and vice president, Nick Kraus and Jan Helmer, formally were reelected, public comment on replacing the middle school “Wildcat” mascot with the high school “Warrior” mascot was invited.
Merissa Bowman, a graduate of Florence Middle School who had spoken at a prior meeting, was the only one to speak.
“It’s one more way for Marion and the school system to distance themselves from the lesser community,” she said. “That may not be your intention, but that is how it is perceived. As a Florence kid, I can attest to the feelings of inadequacy a student feels for not being a ‘townie.’”
Bowman proposed keeping the name and adding more signs honoring the Wildcats off-campus.
“Keeping the Wildcat mascot allows these kids at least a semblance of representation in Marion,” she said. “The middle school kids feel underrepresented. … This town is willing to display rhinos and Warriors but not Wildcats.”
Bowman said afterwards that she was pessimistic whether her words would have an impact.
“I think they’ve already made up their mind,” she said. “I feel like they’re doing this for appearances, to try to make us feel heard.”
Her husband, Greg Bowman, shared a similar sentiment.
“I think a couple of them have more to think about that they weren’t aware of, and then a few have already decided,” he said.
Middle school principal Kelsey Metro, wearing a red shirt adorned with a Wildcat, reported results of a straw poll on the mascot.
36.3% voted “No” and 52.5% “Yes” to the question, “Do you feel like the mascot for USD 408 should be the same for all schools?”
Responses varied by group completing the poll, with 74.2% of community members voting “No.” A plurality of students, parents, and school employees voted “Yes.”
Among students, 47.0% said “Yes.”
Helmer proposed another community meeting in February in Florence.
Two previous meetings on the subject were both in Marion.
Board member Justin Dameron suggested a better-publicized poll might capture the votes of more community members.
Of the 438 people who voted in the poll, only 90 characterized themselves as community members.
“The community is so much larger than the population of employees, parents, and students,” Dameron said. “Only maybe 1% has put in their voice.”
Kraus said he thought it was time to move on from the Wildcat name “out of respect.”
“We’re getting less people who have grown up in the community and more that have moved in,” he said. “I think they don’t have that connection with Florence. … I’m afraid the more people that didn’t go to both schools, people will just be like, ‘Why are we still doing this?’”
Quickly, three community members piped up.
“All the signage in the gym, which is supposed to be the middle school gym and representing the mascot as the Wildcat, says Marion,” Erika Smalley said. “If you do change, OK, people can live with that. But you can’t take Florence out of all of your signage.”
Raquel Welch, a Florence resident who teaches at Peabody-Burns Elementary, rose to speak.
“You can’t take Florence out of your district because we’re part of it,” she said. “And that’s the step you’re taking in this sense. I’m a fifth-generation Florence member. To take all the recognition out that we even exist — come on.”
Other matters addressed at the school meeting included the state of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in the high school.
High school principal Donald Raymer said it was 43 degrees Monday morning in the school’s computer lab.
He suggested the temperature in the Hill building might drop below freezing Tuesday morning.
“They used to make refrigerators out of that stuff,” Raymer said, referring to the building’s stone walls.
The board is accepting bids to improve the system.
The board also announced that two candidates, Molly Quinn and Eric Meyer, would interview for a vacant school board position.
Questions will come from the Kansas State Association of School Boards.
“I’m glad we have options and I’m glad we have applicants,” board member Jillian Edmundson said.