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LVM citizens naming committee adopts accelerated timeline, scoring plan to recommend new school name
Summary
At its inaugural virtual meeting, the LVM track citizens naming committee confirmed procedures, reviewed training materials and set an accelerated schedule to score 56 candidate names with the goal of submitting preferred options to the Madison Metropolitan School District Board by Aug. 24; public comment rules and open-records procedures were also clarified.
The LVM track citizens naming committee met virtually on June 19 to launch the process for renaming LVM Elementary, approve meeting procedures and adopt an accelerated schedule that aims to have recommended names ready for the Madison Metropolitan School District board’s Aug. 24 meeting. "Our names are ready for submission for our August 24 board meeting," said Chelsea Tubs, associate superintendent of educational programming for MMSD, explaining the committee will move quickly because three schools are being renamed concurrently.
The committee began by establishing a quorum and approving the meeting agenda by unanimous voice vote. Chair Dan Collins, who said he serves as president of the LVM Neighborhood Association, led roll call and member introductions. Participants included neighborhood volunteers, parents, a bilingual resource teacher from LVM and a researcher assigned to assist with historical background.
Why it matters: The district is carrying out renaming work for multiple schools under board policy 6700, which requires public notice, a 14-day period before a final decision and criteria that prioritize prominent figures, local geography or civic virtues. Chelsea told members all committee scoring and communications must comply with open-records rules and that recordings and meeting notes will be uploaded the next day to meet Wisconsin’s open meetings law.
What the committee set today: Chelsea displayed a master calendar and explained next steps. Committee members will receive batches of candidate names to score; the committee will review how to apply the rubric at the next meeting and then score names individually. The onboarding guide indicates the LVM pool contains 56 names (from an initial submissions set of more than 70). Members were told to submit rubric scores at least 48 hours before meetings so staff can compile results.
Public comment and recordkeeping: Chelsea said there were no written statements or public commenters at this meeting. Going forward, the committee will accept written statements and virtual public comment signups through the LVM renaming webpage; speakers who register before a meeting will have up to three minutes to speak and the committee will not engage in back-and-forth during those remarks. "We do not engage back and forth with the speaker," she said, laying out the public-comment protocol and sign-up mechanism.
Training and onboarding materials: The meeting included short training videos on implicit bias, ethics and Robert’s Rules of Order so members share a baseline understanding. Chelsea emphasized ways of working that committee members must follow: recuse themselves for disclosed conflicts of interest, score only in the district portal to preserve public records and avoid private side discussions that would constitute a walking quorum.
Housekeeping and member responsibilities: Members must complete a participant acknowledgement form electronically before the next meeting confirming they reviewed the onboarding materials, the policy criteria and open-records obligations. Chelsea said physical copies of materials can be provided on request and that staff (including researcher Gail Martinson) will support fact-checking and historical background.
Formal actions: The agenda was approved by unanimous voice vote; the meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn, seconded and carried unanimously at 7:17 p.m. Central. Because the work is on an accelerated track, Chelsea asked members to expect additional homework between meetings (including availability confirmations) and called for rubric scoring to be completed in advance of deliberations.
What’s next: The committee will practice scoring at the next meeting, begin individual scoring of name batches afterward, and hold a virtual public hearing at least 14 days before a final committee vote. The committee’s preferred name(s) will then be prepared for submission to the school board and superintendent for consideration at the Aug. 24 board meeting.
