Racine committee recommends keeping Red Apple name, forwards non‑unanimous recommendation to full board

A Racine Unified School District committee on the proposed renaming of Red Apple School voted 3–1 to recommend the district retain the Red Apple name for the new school on Center Street and forward that recommendation to the full Board of Education.

The committee’s recommendation, moved by Committee member Miss Harris and seconded by Committee chair Mister Baez, will appear on the full board agenda for a final vote. Committee members recorded the outcome in the minutes and agreed the record should show the recommendation was not unanimous.

The committee met to consider several suggested names for the new facility, including Laurel Clark; Corrine Owens; Bonnie High; and Peter Thomas. Committee chair Mister Baez described the committee’s role as gathering recommendations and forwarding them to the board for action. Committee member Miss Harris said she would move that “this committee recommend to the board that we retain the name, Red Apple, for the new school on Center Street.” The motion carried in the committee roll call with Miss Harris voting yes, Mister O’Connell yes, Miss Villar yes and Mister Coe voting no.

Public comment at the meeting largely favored keeping the Red Apple name. Jeff Coe, a community speaker who identified himself during the comments period, told the committee, “Red Apple isn’t just what we’re called. It’s who we are,” stressing continuity for current students and alumni as the school prepares to open at the Center Street site in 2026. Carmen Rios, identified as the PTA president for Red Apple, said she “strongly believe[s] to keep Red Apple’s name as it is for the new building,” and urged the committee to find other ways to honor notable community members inside the school.

Several speakers and committee members also argued for honoring local figures in some manner. The committee heard proposals to name the school or portions of it after Laurel Clark (presented in the meeting as an astronaut and Racine native), Corrine Owens (described as a civil‑rights pioneer in Racine), Bonnie High (a longtime community librarian), and Peter Thomas (identified as a historical local official who lived on the Center Street site). Some committee members and public speakers suggested alternatives to renaming the whole school — for example, dedicating rooms, the science wing, or an aquatic facility in honor of a person with ties to the district.

Committee discussion touched on procedure as well as substance. One member raised that the committee does not have authority to change a facility name permanently; that action requires approval by the full Board of Education. Committee members also noted an internal facility‑utilization policy — which the committee cited as calling for maintaining a list of potential facility names — and agreed the record should reflect both the majority recommendation and the dissenting vote.

The committee will forward the recommendation, including the documented 3–1 vote and the public comments received, to the full Board of Education for consideration at its next meeting. The committee did not adopt any further directives or implementation steps; final action on renaming rests with the full board.