Public and staff split as Racine panel weighs renaming Red Apple School for astronaut Laurel Clark

At a Racine Unified School District renaming committee meeting on the proposed renaming of Red Apple School, community members and staff expressed sharply divided views over whether to rename the school for astronaut Laurel Clark or retain the historic “Red Apple” name.

The debate centers on the school’s 50-year identity and the district’s facility-naming rules. Committee chair April Harris noted the process will include multiple meetings and that the board makes the final decision under district naming guidelines; the committee did not take a vote and said it will schedule at least one more public meeting before deciding.

Speakers who identified themselves as Red Apple staff, parents, PTA members and alumni told the committee they want to preserve the school’s name and legacy. Scott Campbell, principal of Red Apple, said staff and families strongly favor keeping “Red Apple” and suggested honoring Laurel Clark in a building space instead. “If you talk to my staff, you talk to my students, if you talk to my PTA, my parents, I think we’re strongly for Red Apple,” Campbell said. He added the school has been part of the community for more than 50 years and said staff would like to “somehow incorporate Laurel Clark into that” by naming a lab or library after her rather than removing the Red Apple name.

Parents and PTA leaders said the district’s public outreach created confusion about whether the school is being renamed or simply receiving a new building. Don Francisco, who identified himself as PTA treasurer, said parents and students “are confused why their school is gonna be changed” and asked why communications used the phrase “new school” instead of “new building.” Several commenters said they did not receive the district survey soliciting opinions.

District staff reported survey results to the committee and, during the meeting, Harris said that “74 percent of the community, all the respondents” favored a name change; multiple public speakers contested the survey’s distribution and reach. The transcript also contains subgroup percentages cited aloud by committee members and staff (for example, staff responses and former-staff responses), but several speakers said many neighborhood residents did not receive the survey by email or text.

Several speakers urged a compromise approach. Teacher Suzanne Kelly Johnson, a 33-year Red Apple teacher, said she wanted Laurel Clark recognized while keeping the Red Apple name: “I would like to have her recognized … but also keeping Red Apple, I think, is very, very important too.” Board members and other speakers proposed naming a wing, STEAM space, science lab or library after Laurel Clark or hyphenating the school name so the district could preserve Red Apple branding while honoring Clark.

Committee members recited the district’s facility-naming rules, which require a board-appointed committee and written nominations and note that the board makes the final decision. One board member read the policy’s high bar for renaming: once a facility has been officially named, it “shall not be renamed except for reasons deemed compelling by the board.”

No formal motion or vote was taken at the meeting. The committee chair said there will be at least one more public meeting and that the board will hold a meeting to take a vote at a later date; members emphasized the need to move within the school construction timeline but also to allow more public input.

The issue drew sustained public attendance and multiple speakers from the Red Apple community, including school staff and PTA leaders. The committee said it will publish dates for additional meetings and that the vote will include another opportunity for public comment.