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Scituate parents, students and residents clash over naming and redistricting as committee pauses vote
Summary
Students urged the committee to honor local women (Inez Haines Erwin or Venus Manning) while residents criticized the naming task force and survey process as insufficiently transparent; the committee postponed a name vote to April 27 and plans further redistricting outreach ahead of a May 18 decision.
The Scituate School Committee heard more than an hour of public comment Tuesday night on two interlinked matters for the district: how to name the new consolidated elementary school and how to redraw attendance zones for the town.
Students spoke in favor of person-centered names. "Inez Haines Erwin was a pioneer of young women going to college and getting involved in civics," said Eva Schulberg, a Scituate High School senior, arguing that Erwinwould provide an inspiring local role model. Naomi Sauer, a junior who proposed "Venus Manning," told the committee Manning "was born into slavery ... and became one of the richest single women in Scituate," and said naming a school for her would teach overlooked local history.
But several residents pressed the committee on process…
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