What should Schoharie Central School’s new mascot be?
That’s a question SCS will begin working on in January--and needs to have answered by June.
Last month the State Education Department sent out a memo reminding school districts that they need to comply with an order issued two years ago prohibiting the use of Native American imagery by the end of the 2023 school year.
Those that don’t will lose state aid.
More than half of the SCS budget comes from the state, Superintendent Dave Blanchard said Thursday.
“We’re not in a position to aggressively make a stand,” against the ruling, he said. “The stakes are too high.”
In its memo, State Education Senior Deputy Commissioner James Baldwin also said it will remove administrators and school boards in districts that don’t comply.
SCS is one of about 60 schools in the state and 2,000 nationwide with some version of a Native American mascot.
Starting with a community forum Wednesday, January 18, at 6pm in the Junior-High School Auditorium, the night before the next school board meeting, Mr. Blanchard said, they'll begin discussing a replacement mascot
Anyone’s invited; more details will ffollow.
SCS has been preparing for the change for a number of years, Mr. Blanchard said, and nothing in the ongoing building projects have featured the SCS Indian.
But at the same time, time is of the essence, not just because of the state, but because SCS will begin work on its new athletic fields in 2023.
If the district wants to include the new mascot and imagery, Mr. Blanchard said, they’ll need to come to a consensus on one.
In the Capital District, 12 schools use Native American mascots.
Some have already made changes—Mohonasen changed its from Native American Warriors to Warriors, but hasn’t changed its logo; others, like Schoharie, are waiting for more information from State Ed.