Design team recommends renaming three Burnsville schools; board asks policy review and design-team process

A district-convened design team recommended changing the names of Edward Neill, Harriet Bishop and Gideon Pond elementary schools, saying the historical records the team reviewed tied those figures to missionary and assimilationist efforts that harmed Indigenous communities. The recommendation was presented Feb. 13 to the Burnsville Public School District 191 Board of Education during a report on the school-name-change process.

The board heard that the design team worked from American Indian Parent Advisory Committee (APAC) Recommendation 3 and that the team’s work proceeded under board policy 8-99, which governs naming of school buildings and facilities. Assistant Superintendent Chris Belmont summarized historical research the team conducted about Edward Neill, Harriet Bishop and Gideon Pond and said the team recommended names that better align with District 191’s values and that reflect land-based connections and partnership with local Indigenous nations. Indigenous Cultural Liaison Madison McKinney said the legacies of the three historical figures are “deeply connected to colonial expansion and forced assimilation policies” and recommended the district pursue name changes that support healing and connection to land.

Board members discussed next steps and asked staff to revise board policy language about naming (policy 8‑99) so future naming commissions have clear guidance, including a preference for non-person-based or land/nature-based names. The board directed Superintendent Battle to run the naming-policy review and to convene formal design teams for the three schools to collect community and student input per policy 8‑99. Trustees also discussed whether other district sites (including Princewell/Cedar alternative high school and other schools currently named for people) should be included in a broader review; they asked staff to begin research and community engagement about additional names but to proceed first with the three schools the APAC identified.

Board members emphasized that student and community involvement will be central to each school’s design-team process, and that any name-change rollout should be treated as a distinct community event with time for outreach, grief, and celebration. No final renaming votes were taken Feb. 13; the board approved the process direction and the policy review to guide the design teams.