TURNERS FALLS — As the Gill-Montague Regional School Committee looks for ways to select a new mascot for Turners Falls High School, the board decided at Tuesday night’s meeting to hold a brainstorming meeting next week.
The brainstorming session is planned for next Tuesday and will be considered a public School Committee meeting. Before then, the board encourages the public to submit ideas so it can have an idea of where the public is on the issue. Members said they’ve received emails from the community about where the process should go next.
This was the first meeting where the committee formally discussed the mascot since they voted to change it from the Indians at the Feb. 14 meeting.
Some board members want to focus on setting criteria for a new mascot before going further in any possible process.
“We need to be very clear on what the criteria will be,” Board Member Christina Postera said. “Ultimately it is our jurisdiction.”
There was consensus among the members that the selection of a new mascot should be an inclusive and transparent process, where the community has a clear outline and understanding of what the committee is doing.
The board previously voted to end the mascot review process that started what had become a community-wide debate about whether the school’s former mascot was appropriate.
Some members expressed concerns that going forward, the board needs to be able to stick to whatever process it outlines for fears of upsetting the community.
“We want to be careful about creating a process we can’t follow through on,” Committee Member Lesley Cogswell said.
Members were also concerned about striking the right balance on public participation and input in the brainstorming session.
The meeting will not open with a standard public participation portion.
While open for the public to attend, it is not a forum, and community members should not expect to speak or address the committee.
At one point during the discussion, Cogswell asked Alana Martineau, a parent at the school who had spoken during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting, for her thoughts on the structure the committee was designing.
“I’m thinking that excluding the public is not a good way to start the discussion” Martineau said.
She added that it’s an emotional issue for a lot of people and the committee should do everything in its power to get information out about next week’s meeting so people can have the opportunity to email or call the committee or administration.
After several emotionally charged public comments during the start of the meeting, some committee members also clarified the structure of public comment. School Committee member Jane Oaks wanted to make sure the public understood that the School Committee does not answer questions during the public participation, but that it’s a time for the public to express opinions to the committee.
The next meeting — when the brainstorming session is to take place — will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4, according to Committee Chairman Michael Langknecht.