School names

Well, the Comal ISD board of trustees lived down to my expectations last night, and named the new elementary school "Morningside Elementary" with a unanimous vote showing equal parts arrogance, timidity and a stunning lack of imagination. No surprises here, as they all but said they'd never vote for Steve Irwin Elementary. As I've mentioned before, I was on the naming committee for this school, along with three elementary teachers, the president of the PTO and a member of the local historical society. The proposal for "Steve Irwin Elementary" was forwarded with unanimous enthusiasm by our committee to the trustees. The only reason we sent Morningside along as well was because we were required to submit at least two names for consideration. The committee wasn't allowed to rank the suggested names, or explain our reasoning or preference. Morningside, we all agreed, was uninspiring but inoffensive. And there wasn't a huge community demand for this name: Two people suggested it initially, my wife and a neighbor, and both enthusiastically supported Steve Irwin over the alternative.

But hey, school boards have a long and storied history of doing what they want to do regardless, and this one is no different. Two submitted names for the former Canyon Leadership Institute were dismissed out of hand, and instead the trustees apparently made up the awe-inspiring moniker of "Memorial High School" on the spot. Betcha all those committee members who volunteered hours of their time these past few months really appreciated that one.

But Calista had her say before the board, and I'm still proud of her for speaking up. Even though she didn't sway any of the trustees, she did make an impression on the reporters in attendance, and is quoted in both the San Antonio Express-News and the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung:

Calista Blaschke, 7, said she and her classmates at Comal Elementary hoped to honor the Crocodile Hunter with the Morningside area school.

“I would like to call it Steve Irwin Elementary because that’s my favorite and my class’s favorite too,” said the second-grader. “He’s taught me a lot of stuff I didn’t know.”

When was the last time you heard of children expressing any enthusiasm for naming a school? Yeah, I thought so. Calista's happy about being quoted in the news, but she says she'd rather have the school named after Irwin. The trustees, obviously, just don't get it.

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