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Southside naming committee forwards four ranked options; board to vote Feb. 24
Summary
A community naming committee presented a ranked list of four recommended names for the new Southside school building and said student input favored the geographically themed option; the Board of Education will consider the recommendations at its Feb. 24 meeting.
The Southside Elementary School renaming committee recommended four ranked name options to the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education and will present the list for board consideration at the regular meeting on Feb. 24, committee chair Greg Jones told the Instruction Work Group.
Jones said the committee received a record number of proposals and conducted a thorough review. The committee submitted a ranked slate: (1) Southside Community School; (2) Ada Deer; (3) Lori Mankiewicz; (4) Nine Springs (also referenced in committee materials as Ninth Street/9 Springs). Jones said the committee’s guiding principles were community pride, relevance for current and future students, and honoring local connections.
Jones and committee member Barb Osborne told the board that student responses collected at Southside favor the geographically themed option (Nine Springs) in an early tally: teachers reported class‑level voting for K–2 and individual responses for grades 3–5, and the student input results then showed “9 Springs” as the top student pick so far. District staff said a full public input report, including disaggregated results by stakeholder group, will be provided to the board ahead of the Feb. 24 vote.
Board members asked about outreach to neighborhood and nearby schools. Board President Nichols noted requests to include students from nearby programs in the outreach list; staff said they would review and ensure neighborhood stakeholders had opportunities to respond. Jones thanked the board and district staff for the process and said he welcomed the board’s deliberation next month.
No formal board vote occurred at the Instruction Work Group meeting; the renaming recommendation will appear on the regular board meeting agenda for Feb. 24.
