Hi Steve: As one who has represented school districts in California's public education system I've taken an interest in your mascot issues. Unfortunately I've never been able to understand the rational for dropping the "Coyotes". As I understand it the school you attended is being "retired"-I don't know what that means other than there won't be any students there. This is being done because there are two new high schools being or are already being built. If the "Coyotes" were kept which of the two new schools would take the name ? Since the name is obviously popular wouldn't that present problems for the other school ? Maybe the Board considered that since your old school is dead it simply makes sense that so should the name "Coyotes ". I recall the vote by the Board was to let the students vote? How would that go if some students would be going to one of the new schools and some to the other school-based on where they live.
I'm just trying to think my way around this and pretend I was the district's attorney and the Board came to me about this outcry from former students. OTOH I shouldn't intervene in your posts because I don't know all the facts. But I can offer you this from both my wife (school superintendent) and my perspective: whenever two
new high schools are added to a district-or even just one-and another school is being shut down-or not-all kinds of trouble with parents and the community arises -some political-some not I remember a school supt. in our district lost his job because of issues connected with the building of a new high school and sending kids to that school to solve overcrowding, etc. It got violent at some point. No one is ever happy.
If that decision is final -I feel bad for you and the others.
