MMSD renaming committee trims 55 proposals to 10 finalists, schedules July 23 public hearing

The renaming committee for the Madison Metropolitan School District voted to put 10 candidate names up for public comment and set a virtual public hearing for July 23 from 6 to 7 p.m., the committee’s staff lead said at a July meeting.

Chelsea, the district staff member running the process, told committee members the finalists will be posted on the district website at least one week before the hearing and promoted via a press release and social media. “The public hearing is now going to be July 23,” she said, and added that the district will livestream the meeting and accept written comments during a 14‑day window afterward.

Why it matters: The committee narrowed an initial pool of 55 nominations to 10 names that will be exposed to community review. After the public comment period the committee plans to reconvene, rescore the finalists in light of what it hears and then select up to four names to forward to the school board for final consideration.

What the committee approved: Chelsea displayed the committee scoring results and identified five names that met the committee’s threshold and five additional names nominated from a borderline list. The 10 finalists announced for public hearing were Freddie May Hill, Harriet Tubman, Lucía Núñez, Stephanie A. Bernard, Ada Deer, Capitol View, Capstone, Day Jope (Dejope/Teejop variant), Gaylord Nelson, and Jeffrey Clay Erlanger.

How it will proceed: Committee members agreed they would not finalize the board submission tonight. Instead, staff will post the finalists, host the July 23 virtual hearing (live on YouTube), collect written comments for 14 days, compile the feedback and any additional research, then hold a follow‑up meeting to rescore and choose up to four names for the board.

Concerns and discussion recorded: Members raised several recurring concerns during debate over which names to advance.

- Duplication and clarity: Several members worried that natural‑feature names such as “Drumlins,” “Oak Savannah,” and “Sandhill Crane” resemble other local school names or are common in the region, which could cause confusion; one member said that similarity pushed those names lower in their scoring.

- Cultural consultation: Multiple members urged intentional outreach to Native communities before advancing indigenous names. Chelsea said she would ask district staff — including a Native American teacher leader who has worked with elders on other renamings — to confirm whether nominators had consulted community representatives and to advise appropriate spellings and use.

- Appropriateness of certain names: A committee member said they found using “Ho‑Chunk” as a school name problematic because of possible association with a nearby casino; another member called the use of tribal names “messy” without further educational or community work.

- Family consent and legacy: The chair noted that naming schools after deceased people can open questions about descendant input and asked staff to check whether nominators had reached out to families when appropriate.

Votes and next steps: The committee moved, seconded and approved the list of 10 finalists for public hearing; the chair counted five affirmative responses out of seven members present at the vote and declared the list approved. Chelsea will circulate a press release and a calendar update, post the finalists to the district website, and send a Doodle/Google survey to schedule the committee’s follow‑up meeting after the public comment window.

The committee adjourned at 7:26 p.m.