Planning committees recommend naming new North End school Barnum Elementary

Planning committee members for the Town of Cheshire recommended naming the new North End Elementary School “Barnum Elementary” in honor of Colonel Harvey C. Barnum.

The joint planning committees of the Board of Education and the Town Council voted to forward the recommendation to the full Town Council; the motion passed unanimously of those present. The council is scheduled to take up the matter at a special meeting the following day.

The committees said the naming followed a multi-step public nomination and scoring process. Committee members reported that 16 people comprise the combined Board of Education and Town Council membership and that 13 of the 16 participated in the prior voting process to narrow nominations. The six names that were considered in that scoring round were Barnum, Papandrea, Schaefer, Edgeview, Tuttle and Richards. Committee members said nominations required three public recommendations to be considered for the shortlist.

Committee members described the rubric used to evaluate the six proposed names. As summarized at the meeting, scoring categories included: whether a name is in the best interest of the town; whether it celebrates distinguishing characteristics of Cheshire; suitability for long-term recognition; whether it is a historic name related to the town’s heritage; and whether it recognizes an individual or family distinguished through outstanding achievement at the local, national or international level. Members said each candidate was scored on a scale of 1 to 5 across those criteria and tallied; Colonel Harvey C. Barnum received the highest overall score.

Tricia Kramer, a planning committee member, said she had abstained from the earlier nomination voting and urged the committee to consider more women for future naming efforts: “I believe in the future, we should definitely have more women, if that would take digging deeper into the history of Cheshire,” Kramer said.

Committee members discussed next steps for naming other parts of the building if desired. The group clarified that naming an internal element of the school — such as a wing, library or gymnasium — would follow the same process used for the school-name nominations: it would require three public recommendations, be considered by the Town Council planning committee and then be taken to the full council for final action. Town staff noted the timing is important for signage and that architects requested the recommendation so exterior signage and any dedication plaques can be planned.

The motion forwarded to the full council read to name the new North End Elementary School “Barnum Elementary School” in honor of Colonel Harvey C. Barnum. Greg Wolf moved the recommendation and John Malone seconded it. The chair called for a voice vote and announced the motion passed unanimously of those present.

The committees did not cite any statutory authority during the discussion. No dollar figures or contract actions were associated with the recommendation; members said separate decisions about signage and plaques would be handled administratively once the council acts.

The full Town Council will consider the planning committees’ recommendation at its special meeting the next day; the recommendation to the council is advisory until the council votes on adoption.