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School staff proposes community process to name new auxiliary gym, suggests removing personal names from policy
Summary
A staff member told the Banks SD 13 board that a new auxiliary gym opening next school year should be named through a community committee and recommended removing people from the district's naming policy; board members signaled support and asked staff to return a refined process and timeline.
A staff member for Banks SD 13 told the school board that a new auxiliary gym, scheduled to be operational midway through the next school year, should be named through a community-driven process and recommended removing people from the district's naming policy.
The staff member, speaking without giving a public name on the record, said the district's naming policy is about 25 years old and currently requires names that would apply to all facilities on a school site. "I'd like to see us remove people as an option," the staff member said, arguing that honorees' reputations can change over time and that personal namings can create later controversies.
Board members discussed options for a process. One board member supported naming the facility and suggested creating a committee to solicit community input, narrow nominees to a short list, and present finalists to the board. "Maybe we narrow it down to three or something," the board member said, adding that student participation or a community vote on finalists could make the process more inclusive.
Board members and staff clarified that donor-driven private naming—for example naming a football field tied to private fundraising—would be handled differently from public facility naming governed by district policy. The staff member said the auxiliary gym sits on the middle-school block but is currently referred to as the community auxiliary gym and that the discussion concerned that public facility.
As next steps, the staff member said they would confirm a timeline with a staff contact (Clint) and, if the schedule allowed, begin the process prior to the next board meeting. The staff member committed to returning to the board with a more refined proposal and timeline. The board did not take a formal vote at this meeting.
The board's direction was procedural: form a committee to solicit and filter name proposals, consider student input and community engagement, and bring a recommendation back to a future meeting for formal consideration.
